Having persuaded Bill Mata to extend his stay in the Scottish capital, Edinburgh’s head coach yesterday set his sights on attracting more of the dynamic No.8’s fellow Fijians to join his team.
The 27-year-old had been on Edinburgh’s books for a year when Richard Cockerill took charge of the club in the summer of 2017, but it is under the Englishman that he has developed into one of the most valuable game-breakers in European rugby, making his decision to stay until 2021 a major coup.
Mata explained yesterday that the way both his own game and that of the team as a whole had made it an easier decision to reject other offers.
“When I first came here in the first season it was a struggle to get a win, but now all the teams in the Pro14 have improved and we know we can compete with them and beat them when we play at our best. We can still step up and get better,” he said.“I think the [training] programme suits me a lot, especially the strength and conditioning programme because it allows me to do what I have been doing so that is one of the main things that encourage me to stay for the next few seasons to get even better. To be honest it changed my rugby from when I was in Fiji.”
Two of Mata’s compatriots, Fiji sevens captain Kalione Nasoko and one of his team-mates in that squad, Mesulame Kunavula, were recently linked with possible moves to Glasgow Warriors and Cockerill said that while retaining Mata’s services had been his priority, he is acutely aware of the value for money to be generated by shopping in the South Seas.
“We’re looking for more talent - Fijian talent, Pacific island talent - to bolster this team, because it gives you x factor and I’ve certainly done that when I was with Leicester, with the Tuilagi clan that all came through,” he said.“So we’re hopefully going to bolster, certainly in the back line, with similar types - not players like Vili, but players like (ex-Leicester winger Vereneki) Goneva or the Tuilagis or (Glasgow’s Niko)Matawalus that give us a bit of x factor, because all the good teams in Europe have one or two, 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 that.”
Cockerill is acutely aware of what Mata does and does not do, noting that others in his team are charged with taking on additional chores to allow the Fijian to direct his explosiveness towards areas in which he can maximise his impact in matches.
He consequently used Mata’s decision to issue a bullish sounding message about the benefits of creating the right environment both on and off the field which he believes is as important to attracting talent as getting the remuneration package right.
“There aren’t many teams in Europe that can match Racing 92 or a Toulon or a Japanese deal, so you have to create an environment where the money’s good. We pay market value for our best players and rightly so, give or take, but also you have to create an environment where they’re happy,” said Cockerill. “Vili’s happy because he’s playing good rugby. He feels loyal to us because we’ve looked after him. His family are happy here, Life’s not just about the cash all of the time, there’s a balance to that. So, you want guys happy, in an environment where they’re playing their best rugby and they feel wanted and they’re being used to the best of their ability. Three or four months ago you wouldn’t have put money on Bill staying, because there was a lot of interest, but he’s happy. We’re here to keep our best players and compete and get better. As long as I’m here we won’t be a selling club, trust me. We’ve got to keep our best players, as simple as that.”
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