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'Tex has been one of our most impressive summer signings... he's a smashing guy who is full of energy and life'
Paul Gustard has handed Tevita ‘Tex’ Cavubati a key role as Harlequins attempt to use their trio of Fijian internationals to bid for the Gallagher Premiership play-offs.
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Quins boss Gustard signed Cavubati and Niki Goneva from relegated Newcastle Falcons to join Fiji Olympic Sevens gold medal winner Semi Kunatani at the Twickenham Stoop to ensure the versatile forward felt at home in south-west London.
Making sure the Pacific Islands players have a support network to help them deal with life away from their families is an area that Premiership clubs are recognising needs to be properly addressed and Quins also have a welfare manager tasked with overseeing this key area.
Kunatani joined Quins from Toulouse last season and has become a fan favourite with his big hits in defence and sevens-inspired ball-handling skills.
With Quins failing to make a significant impact in Europe, the Premiership now becomes their main focal point this season and Gustard is looking to his Fijian internationals to help bring the best out of young stars such as Alex Dombrandt, the highly-rated back row forward.
(Continue reading below…)
“Semi came here from Toulouse and I had seen him play at 15, 13 and back row and he has something different,” said Gustard to RugbyPass ahead of Quins’ trip to injury-hit Wasps next Saturday.
“He is an intuitive player and we liked his ability to beat people and get past the first tackler and dominate the gain line. We also recognised that he comes from a small village in Fiji and so it is good for him to have someone who can identify with his heritage and that was part of our recruitment process for this season.
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“Tex has been one of our most impressive summer signings and is a smashing guy who is full of energy and life which is awesome. We wanted to make sure there was someone who could be there for Semi and Tex is the perfect the fit.
In the latest instalment of the popular RugbyPass 15 for 10 series, @alexshawsport runs the rule over the last decade at @Harlequinshttps://t.co/dGQ131yibb
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 12, 2019
“We also employ a welfare manager at the club, we speak to Dan Leo and also Ben Ryan (former Fiji sevens coach) who lives around the Twickenham area and also Gareth Baber, the Fiji sevens coach. Last season we had a more Samoan flavour and so Semi did have guys with Islander heritage but there is a difference between Fijians, Tongans and Samoans.”
Cavubati is relishing his role at the club, as he explained on signing from Newcastle: “Fiji will always be in us and we cannot shy away from that. That is how we play and that is how we express ourselves.
“Hopefully we can also integrate it with the Harlequins mindset. Harlequins is one of the biggest clubs in rugby. I grew up in Fiji and I had heard of Harlequins and I had seen the jersey around the villages”
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Confirmation from Harlequins about how Kyle Sinckler has really gone from zero to hero this yearhttps://t.co/Okp7QJHgSk
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 12, 2019
Gustard revealed his former club Saracens could have signed Goneva before he became a Premiership try-scoring sensation with Leicester and Newcastle while he was still largely unknown and playing in the second division of French rugby.
“I remember when I was at Saracens that Niki was offered to the club and Andy Farrell was talking with Mark McCall about it and they thought he may not be right for the club playing in the French second division. Then, he came across and lit up the Premiership.
The new @premrugby season hasn’t been kind to @Harlequins but 2015 England skipper @ChrisRobshaw tells @heagneyl he is ready to embrace the @ChampionsCup following a @rugbyworldcup experience that was different but very enjoyable compared to four years agohttps://t.co/9VPljx566j
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 13, 2019
“Quins had the opportunity to sign him following the retirement of Tim Visser to give us the experience and tries. It was too good an opportunity to turn down and he is a great guy who has been in England for a long time and can add a lot to our young wings as he is a guy who has had a career of beating defenders.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
I wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
83 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
83 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
4 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
26 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
4 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
4 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
13 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
5 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
5 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
5 Go to commentsNot sure exactly what went wrong for him at Glasgow but it’s pretty clear he ain’t Franco’s cup of tea. Suspect he would have been better served heading out of Scotland around the same time as Finn, Hoggy and Jonny!
1 Go to commentsBulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
26 Go to commentsI wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to commentsJason Jenkins has one cap. When Etzebeth was his age he had over 80 caps. Experience matters. He will never amount to what Etzebeth has because he hasn’t been developed as an international player.
2 Go to commentsSays much about the player picking this gig over the easier and bigger rewards offered to him in Japan. Also says a lot about the state sanctioned tax benefits the Irish Revenue offers pro rugby players, with their ten highest earning years subject to an additional 40% tax relief and paid as a lump sum, in cash, at retirement. Certainly helps Leinster line up the financial ducks in a row to fund marquee signings like this!!! No other union anywhere in world rugby benefits from this kind of lucrative financial sponsorship from their government…
5 Go to comments