Doge is so ambitious about his rugby and its no surprise he has made it this far - Taga

He is so ambitious and a very hard-working person, and it is no surprise that he has made it this far in rugby.

Those were the words of Swire Shipping Fijian Drua and Fiji Water Flying Fijian prop Mesake Doge's wife Laisa Taga.

While speaking about Doge's rugby journey, Taga says it was not easy for him especially when he was trying to balance education and rugby.

She says Doge had to give up his tertiary studies just to focus on rugby which she believes is a decision that Doge never regretted seeing how far he has come now.

Taga says Doge is the type of person that cannot focus on two things so he had to give up one thing to focus on the other - he decided he was going to focus on rugby and he made sure the decision he made was worth it.

She adds Doge was studying Civil Engineering at USP when he was selected to be a part of the Fiji under-20 squad for the IRB Junior World Cup in 2013 and when he came back, that is when he decided he was going to give up tertiary education and follow his dream of making rugby his career.

Taga joked that it was the right choice as well because she could not see Doge sitting in an office.

She says Doge was so ambitious and serious about his rugby that he used to walk from his home to train every day.

She adds these couple of years was not easy for them especially when they had to be apart for most of the time but they stood by each other and she made sure Doge received the support he needs.

Taga says when Doge joined the Fijian Drua this year, one of the first things he was told was to get a knee surgery as he had been playing rugby for the past few years with an ACL injury.

She says it was hard for Doge as he had to spend months out of rugby to focus on rehab but he did not give up and kept his focus on his goal and that was to get his knee fixed as soon as possible so he can get back on the field.

Taga says when Doge made his Fijian Drua debut in this season's Super Rugby Pacific competition, he was filled with joy and he told her that he has never felt so light in a long time when he played after the rehab.

Doge started his rugby career at Queen Victoria School before he was selected to be a part of the Fiji Rugby High Performance Unit which is Fiji Rugby's pathway for development players.

He joined the Fiji Under 20 side in 2013 and went on to represent the Fiji Warriors side before making his debut for the Flying Fijians in 2016.

He also represented Naitasiri in the Skipper Cup Competition before moving to Romania where he spent two seasons.

Doge then moved to France to join Brive in the Pro D2 competition before being signed by the Fijian Drua this season.

Taga says when Doge was selected into the Flying Fijians' Rugby World Cup squad, he himself was surprised knowing the level of competition in the team but he knew it was the sacrifices they made that were starting to pay off.

Taga says they were lost for words when he was selected and they are just proud of his achievement.

She has sent her well wishes to Doge and reminded him that she is proud of his journey and he is getting all the support not only from her but from Doge's family as a whole.

The Flying Fijians have moved camp to England for their last warm-up match against the English side at Twickenham Stadium at 2.15am this Sunday.

They will then move back to France to prepare for the Rugby World Cup next month.

Fiji's first RWC game is against Wales at 7am on the 11th of September.

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