Richard Cockerill keen to add more Fijian talent to Edinburgh squad

Viliame Mata believes there are plenty of other rugby talents in Fiji that are just waiting for their big chance in Europe – and Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill admits he is looking for even more ?‘X factor’ players from the Pacific island nation to bolster his squad ahead of next season.

By GARY HEATLY Tuesday, 26th February 2019, 10:56 pm Updated Tuesday, 26th February 2019, 11:02 pm

Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill wants to sign more players with an 'X factor'. Picture: SNS/SRU

Despite a lot of interest from other clubs, it was announced yesterday that Mata, the 27-year-old No 8 known as Bill, had extended his stay in the capital until at least May 2021.

News of the new, improved deal which overrides his previous one which was due to run out in 2020 means that the strong runner with the deadly offloads will be a focal point of Cockerill’s Edinburgh as the Englishman continues to rebuild a club that was at a low ebb when he joined as head coach back in 2017.

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Before Mata, the likes of Niko Matawalu and Leone Nakarawa came to these shores and lit up Scotstoun with Glasgow Warriors while fellow Fijian Netani Talei put in a great shift for Edinburgh between 2010 and 2013.

Everyone loves watching the Fijians play and they certainly get spectators off their seats, so could Mata be joined by more of his countrymen at BT Murrayfield during the 2019-20 campaign? Cockerill, pictured, said: “We’re looking for more talent – Fijian talent, Pacific island talent – to bolster this team because it gives you X factor.

“I certainly did that when I was with Leicester, with the Tuilagi clan that all came through and guys like [Vereniki] Goneva who we signed from Tarbes, so we’re hopefully going to bolster, certainly in the back line, with similar types.

“Players like Goneva or the Tuilagis or Matawalu that give us a bit of X factor because all the good teams in Europe have one, two or three of those types of players that give you something for nothing. Vili gives us that and we probably need a little bit more of it.”

Mata, who had never lived outside of Fiji until 2016 when he moved to Scotland, knows there are good players just waiting for the call in his homeland.

“Yes, there are a lot of guys over there [with talent] and if clubs here are searching for talent they should be looking to the island and hand picking those guys,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mata has praised the Edinburgh strength and conditioning staff, headed up by Nick Lumley, for transforming him as an athlete.

“The first season here was a bit of a struggle but I have picked up every season since and that is mainly down to the strength and conditioning guys at the club,” said the man who won an Olympic sevens gold medal in 2016.

“I think the training programme suits me a lot, especially the S&C programme because it allows me to do what I have been doing so that is one of the main things that encouraged me to stay for the next few seasons and get even better.

“The S&C here, well it has changed my rugby from when I was in Fiji. For me it is just about doing my own thing and using my strengths and hoping they contribute to the team.

“I just put everything I learn in training out there on the field and hope it helps the team get the result after 80 minutes.”