Flying Fijians selectors utilise PNC to gauge new players’ performances

The recent Asahi Super Dry Pacific Nations Cup tournament was a great opportunity for the Fiji Water Flying Fijians selectors to gauge the performance of some young and upcoming players who still have a long way to go in rugby.

After defending the title following their 41-17 win over Japan in the final, coach Mick Byrne says there were a lot of senior players who did a great job in the Rugby World Cup last year, but throughout the next couple of years, some of those players are going to need to be replaced.

Byrne says the PNC was a great opportunity for the selectors to start looking for those replacements.

He says there are some great young players coming through and some of them are only in their third year of professional rugby, so they are only going to get better.

He adds the sooner they can get these players in the test arena, the better it is for the future of the team and Fiji Rugby.

Meanwhile, there were a total of 8 players who made their debut at the Pacific Nations Cup competition this year which included Paris Olympic silver medallist Ponipate Loganimasi who was called in as an injury cover for Selestino Ravutaumada.