Former England No.8 confident of getting Flying Fijians debut

It is only a matter of time before former England No.8 Nathan Hughes plays for his country, Fiji.

Hughes, who played for the Barbarians in their 31-33 loss to Wales in London yesterday, said he has been assured "the door is always open" as he waits to make his debut for the Flying Fijians.

The 35-year-old, who has played 22 Test matches for England, was named in the 50-member Flying Fijians squad for the Nations Championship but was not included in the 32-member squad announced by interim head coach Senirusi Seruvakula.

The Flying Fijians arrived in Cardiff on Friday, where they have begun preparations for Sunday's (Fiji time) opener against Wales.

This will be followed by their clash against England at the Dickinson Hill Stadium in Liverpool on July 11 before travelling to Edinburgh to face Scotland on July 18.

Hughes, who resurrected his career playing in Japan, has been impressing for Racing 92, which reached the Top 14 play-off semi-finals before losing to Toulouse.

According to RugbyPass, key players such as Hughes, former France international Virimi Vakatawa, Apolosi Ranawai and Vilive Miramira were among a group excluded earlier because of injuries or limited game time but have since returned to action.

They are being monitored by Seruvakula and his coaching staff, who said:

"We put in the best 50 but there are other players outside that 50 who we are still monitoring and know that they are available.

"That is why I'm making all the connections with all these players, talking to them regularly, telling them the expectations and how we are going to do these three matches in the Nations Championships.

"It's a big year this year, we got these three games then the Pacific Nations Cup in Japan and then the remaining Nations Championships games in November.

"So, anything can happen and we want to start with the foundations, get the 32 in and after the first three Nations Championships matches, they might have to return to their clubs or get injured, so the door is always open."

However, the major return to the squad comes in the form of dynamic back-rower Peceli Yato.

The 33-year-old withdrew from the national squad before the 2023 Rugby World Cup (RWC) and has not featured in international colours since.

His call-up to this summer's Nations Championship will complete his much-anticipated comeback ahead of next year's Rugby World Cup.

"I was happy. Like any other Fijian rugby player, it's a privilege to wear the white jersey," Yato told FRU Media as he credited "families and especially fans" for his return.