lasgow Warriors have
added two Fijian
forwards to their squad
ahead of the new season, with
Mesu Dolokoto and Jale
Vakaloloma joining fellow
countryman Niko Matawalu at the
club Hooker Dolokoto and
Vakaloloma, who is equally at
home in the back-row or at lock,
have both signed two-year
contracts at Scotstoun, and move
following impressive performances
for Fijian Drua and Easts Rugby
Union in the National Rugby
Championship and Queensland
Premier Rugby in Australia,
respectively.
Dolokoto is part of Fiji's Rugby
World Cup squad while Vakaloloma
has now arrived in Glasgow.
Vakaloloma said: “This is a great
opportunity for me to play with a
top European side and I can’t wait
to get started.
“Working under the coaching team
led by Dave Rennie can only
improve my game and I know
many Fijians have gone to Glasgow
and been successful and I hope to
follow in their footsteps.
“At the moment my focus is on
training hard and once I travel over
to Scotland I will work even harder
to earn a place in the team.”
Of Vakaloloma’s arrival, Glasgow
Warriors Head Coach Dave Rennie
said: “We’re hugely excited by
Jale’s raw talent and believe he has
the potential to grow into an
excellent player in our environment.
“He is a really impressive athlete;
dynamic, powerful and skilful. He’s
extremely dangerous in open play
and his versatility will be important
for our squad depth, especially in a
World Cup year.”
Dolokoto, who played for Fiji
against Scotland last November,
added: “I’m very happy to be
joining Glasgow Warriors and
looking forward to be playing in
two of the best rugby competitions
in the world.
“The club has a strong Fijian history
and I hope I can be a big part of it
going forward.”
John Dalziel, the club’s Forwards
Coach, was delighted to have
secured the services of an “exciting
talent”. He said: “He likes to bring a
bit of Fijian flair to his game but he
can do the basics very well and
we’re excited to work with him.”Meanwhile, Glasgow’s player
numbers will be further bolstered
by the arrival of five Scotland 7s
players for the early part of the
season as Glenn Bryce, Alec
Coombes, Robbie Fergusson,
Gavin Lowe and Max McFarland
will join the squad.
With 22 players on international
duty, the contracted 7s stars will be
added to the Warriors’ squad,
before resuming their 7s roles intime for the HSBC World Series
getting underway.
They are joined by three of the club
game’s most talented
stars - hookers Johnny Matthews
and Ross Graham, who head west
from Boroughmuir and Watsonians,
respectively, and Ayr wing Kyle
Rowe - who also join the squad.G
GLASGOW
SIGN FIJIAN
FORWARDS
AND ADD
7S STARS
Jale VakalolomaMesu DolokotoTwo more FIjian stars
have signed for Glasgow
Warriors, while a host of
Scotland 7s stars could be
available for the Scotstoun
club at the beginning of
the season
ISSUE 116 2019 • WWW.SCRUMMAGAZINE.COM • 117PRO RUGBY