Fiji names Salesi Rayasi for Wallabies and Scotland tests
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Former Super Rugby winger Salesi Rayasi has been named in Fiji's 32-man squad to play Australia and Scotland in rugby tests next month.
The 28-year-old played six seasons in Super Rugby for the Wellington-based Hurricanes and now plays for Vannes in France's Top 14.
Advertisement
He played for the New Zealand sevens team before switching nations to play for Fiji, following his father Felipe who played 13 test for Fiji in the 1990s.
Australia's test against Fiji at Newcastle on July 6 will be the Wallabies' only warm-up for their three-test series against the British and Irish Lions. Fiji will then play Scotland in Suva on July 12.
'Both Australia and Scotland are established Tier One sides and we know the level we need to rise to,' Fiji head coach Mick Byrne said in naming his squad Wednesday. 'This squad reflects the depth and strength of Fiji rugby and we will give a performance that will make all Fijians proud.'
The Fiji squad included 13 players who played for the Fijian Drua in Super Rugby this season and 10 players based in France.
Advertisement
'We've focused on combinations that give us both tactical adaptability and the trademark Fijian spirit,' Byrne said. 'We want to win but more importantly, we want to win playing our brand of rugby.'
___
Fiji squad:
Forwards: Eroni Mawi, Luke Tagi, Haereiti Hetet, Mesake Doge, Peni Ravai, Tevita Ikanivere, Samuel Mativesi, Kavaia Tagivetaua, Isoa Nasilasila, Mesake Vocevoce, Temo Mayanavanua, Setareki Turagacoke, Viliame Mata, Elia Canakaivata, Lekima Tagitagivalu, Albert Tuisue, Etonia Waqa, Motikai Murray.
Backs: Simione Kuruvoli, Philip Baselala, Sam Wye, Caleb Muntz, Isaia Armstrong-Ravula, Vilimoni Botitu, Josua Tuisova, Iosefo Masikau Baleiwairiki, Sireli Maqala, Kalaveti Ravouvou, Ponipate Loganimasi, Jiuta Wainiqolo, Selesitino Ravutaumada, Salesi Rayasi.
___
AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Georgia women take the team lead at the outdoor track and field championships
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Stephanie Ratcliffe captured Georgia's first hammer throw title since 2010, and the Bulldogs took the team lead at the women's outdoor track and field championships Thursday. Ratcliffe, who also won the hammer title in 2023 while at Harvard, had a national-leading toss of 234 feet, two inches in the fourth round. Advertisement Georgia leads the team standings with 26 points, followed by Illinois with 16.5 and Washington at 16. The Huskies got a boost when Hana Moll won the pole vault with a collegiate-record toss of 15-8 1/2. Moll, who also won the 2024 indoor title, broke the outdoor record held by her twin sister Amanda. Freshman Pamela Kosgei continued New Mexico's dominance in the 10,000 meters with a meet-record time of 31 minutes, 17.02 seconds. The Lobo men had a 1-2 finish on Wednesday. Mya Lesnar won the shot put with a first-round toss of 62-4 1/2 to become the first Colorado State athlete to win an outdoor event title since Loree Smith in 2005. Lesnar, the sixth Ram to win outdoor gold overall, also won the indoor shot put national title in 2024. Advertisement Valentina Barrios Bornacelli secured Missouri's first individual javelin national title with a person-best throw of 203-5 to leap from fourth place to first on her final throw. Georgia freshman Manuela Rotundo finished second. Louisville's Synclair Savage took the long jump title on her final attempt with a school-record leap of 22-0.75 to move up from fourth. On the men's side, Mississippi State's Peyton Bair followed up his 2025 indoor heptathlon title with a commanding win in the decathlon, scoring a personal-best 8,323 points and winning both the 100- and 400-meter races outright. It was the 14th highest score in collegiate history. ___ AP sports:
Hamilton Spectator
38 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Full-time dentist, part-time amateur Matt Vogt's US Open homecoming ends with a kick in the teeth
OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — Matt Vogt's dream-like week heading up to his somewhat unlikely journey to the U.S. Open at a course he once caddied at ended with what felt, perhaps fittingly, like a trip to the dentist's office. The 34-year-old amateur — a Pittsburgh-area native who has a dental practice in the Indianapolis suburbs — had the honors early Thursday morning, taking the opening shot of the national championship's 10th visit to Oakmont. Vogt knew full well the danger of going right. Wanting to avoid putting the ball along Hulton Road, he instead pulled it left. Way left. His 337-yard blast ended up on the edge of the adjoining ninth fairway. He somehow managed to save par, which ended up being one of the few bright spots on a day in which he shot 12-over 82. 'You just can't make physical and mental errors, you can like get away sometimes with one or the other, but you can't get away with both,' he said. 'And you just get behind the eight ball out here and honestly, your head starts spinning. That's honestly what it feels like. Your head starts spinning out here and it just gets away from you.' While Vogt who grew up about 30 minutes northwest of Oakmont, tried to tell himself he had 'zero expectations' after going through qualifying to make the 156-man field. Still, he was hoping to do a little better at the sprawling, links-like course than he did here at the 2021 U.S. Amateur, when he also shot in the 80s. Instead, he spent some time on the practice range Thursday afternoon, searching for something — anything really — to build on. 'I came into such optimism for this golf course, but it is so hard,' he said. 'It's just so, so hard. I'd say, in the moment, you feel like you get punched in the face, you know?' Youth is served Mason Howell not only is the youngest player in the field, he got to Oakmont with the lowest scores. The 17-year-old from Georgia had a 64 in local qualifying, and then rounds of 63-63 at Piedmont Driving Club to lead the five players out of Atlanta. The U.S. Open was different. Howell didn't make a birdie on his way to a 7-over 77. He was asked to compare the nerves of contending for a state high school title and playing Oakmont before a sellout. 'It's definitely way more here, like 10 times the people ... way more than that, actually,' Howell said. 'But high school golf and major championships are just a little bit different.' The closest Howell came to making birdie was on No. 1, his 10th hole of the day. He missed a putt just inside 10 feet. Still, it was an experience he wouldn't trade. 'It's definitely special off the first tee,' he said. 'First tee of a major, you're always juiced up and amped up. I was just ready to get started all week. Now I just don't want it to end.' History, and a humbling, for Lowry Shane Lowry had to smile a bit after holing out from 160 yards for an eagle on the par-4 third at Oakmont. That wasn't nearly enough to salvage a brutal first round for the Irishman. Lowry shot a 9-over 79, which included five bogeys, three double bogeys — and that history-making shot on No. 3. His eagle two was the first in U.S. Open history on that hole at Oakmont. Lowry started on No. 10, so by the time he reached No. 3, he was already 6 over on the day. Even the pars on Lowry's scorecard weren't necessarily routine. On No. 17, his tee shot went into the rough next to the green. His second shot didn't make it out of the rough. His third rolled across the green to the fringe on the other side. Then he chipped in from there. Pinball wizard Tony Finau's best par of the day looked more like pinball than golf. His second shot on the par-4 18th hole clanked off a sprinkler head at the back of the green, then into the grandstand, where it nearly hit a spectator, who reached down to pick it up before thinking better of that. Finau got a drop in front of the grandstand, then hit a towering flop shot that still rolled 41 feet away from the back hole location. But he made it to save par — a rare highlight on a day when he shot 6-over 76. Wherever he may roam Thriston Lawrence gets around a lot. Maybe that's why it didn't take him long to get comfortable during his first trip to Oakmont. The South African, who put together a 3-under 67 to find himself one shot back of early leader J.J. Spaun , doesn't currently have a 'home base.' Lawrence is in his first full season on the PGA Tour — where he's made just 2 of 11 cuts — but returned to the DP World Tour to play a couple of events ahead of the U.S. Open. The lifestyle isn't new to the 28-year-old, who remembers playing upwards of 30 events a year when he was in elementary school. Asked if he gets homesick, he shrugged. 'I mean, it's not nice,' he said. 'I would love to be home.' That's not in the cards at the moment. Sometimes he crashes in Florida at DP World Tour member Thomas Aiken's house. Sometimes he just logs into Airbnb to see what's available, something that helps him 'not get attached.' 'It would be nice to get something, but I'm not yet sure where that is for now,' he said. ___ AP Golf Writer Doug Ferguson, AP National Writer Eddie Pell and AP Sports Writer Noah Trister contributed to this report. ___ AP golf:
Hamilton Spectator
38 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
After 2 straight missed cuts in majors, Brooks Koepka is in early contention at Oakmont
OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — Brooks Koepka admitted he's owed his share of apologies over the past couple months. Missing the cut at majors doesn't sit well with him. 'I would say from the first weekend in April until about last week, you didn't want to be around me,' he said Thursday after the first round of the U.S. Open. 'It drove me nuts. It ate at me. I haven't been happy. It's been very irritating.' Koepka's mood should be better if he can produce three more rounds like this. He shot a 2-under 68 at Oakmont, which left him in a tie for third, two strokes behind leader J.J. Spaun . Koepka made a 42-foot putt for eagle on the par-5 fourth, and after falling back to even par, he finished with birdies on Nos. 17 and 18. 'I thought I played pretty consistent, drove it really well. Iron play was pretty good. When I did miss it, I felt like I missed it in the correct spots. A couple of good bunker shots,' Koepka said. 'I'm really happy with the way I finished, and hopefully it leads into tomorrow.' Koepka missed the cut at both the Masters and PGA Championship this year. He owns five major titles, but he hasn't finished in the top 10 in one since winning the PGA Championship in 2023 at Oak Hill. His last LIV Golf victory was August of last year. So he's had plenty of reasons to be frustrated. And his coach, Pete Cowan, has had reasons to be exasperated with him. Koepka said Cowan gave him a good scolding in a bunker Monday. '(Justin Thomas) thought he had to come check on me in the bunker. We were in there for about 45 minutes, and he was on the other side of the green,' Koepka said. 'I wasn't happy with it, but it was something I think you need to hear or I needed to hear at the right time. It's not the first time he's done it.' That honesty is important to Koepka. 'I don't like having 'yes' people around me. I just want somebody to tell me the truth, tell me what's going on, what they see,' he said. 'If I start swaying from being Brooks Koepka, then I want someone to call me out on it.' On a day when only 10 players shot under par — and only two finished ahead of Koepka — there was plenty to be pleased with. 'I feel good. It's nice to put a good round together. It's been a while,' Koepka said. 'I've been working hard, just got into some bad habits and bad swing positions. We worked pretty hard last week.' ___ AP golf:
