Fiji World Cup skipper Dominiko Waqaniburotu is looking for a new club after it emerged in French media that he will not extend his one-year stay at Pau.
The 34-year-old hooked up with the Top 14 club on a one-season deal following the 2019 World Cup in Japan, but he has not had the best of times, making just four league appearances (and one in the Challenge Cup) in an injury-hit campaign that was officially terminated on Thursday by French officials due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Prior to his switch to Pau, Waqaniburotu has spent seven productive seasons at Brive whom he had joined following his emergence in the New Zealand NPC with Waikato. He was highly regarded at Brive, their coach Jeremy Davidson stating in January 2019: “He is a player who has an aura in the group. He does not let himself down.
“He is a tough guy, a leader of men. He embodies an authority, not by his words but by his actions. After the exceptional victory at the Stade de France, nothing has changed in his behaviour. Even if there are rotations since the beginning of the season and he has not been holder (of a Brive starting jersey) all the time, we really count on him for the future.”
That faith didn’t last as no sooner did Brive secure promotion back too the Top 14 had the Fijian decided to switch clubs.
Capped 51 times by his country, Waqaniburotu had led Fiji to a historic win in Paris over France in 2018. However, hopes that this breakthrough made them a serious threat for the World Cup were misplaced as they were ambushed by minnows Uruguay in their second match at the finals and failed to progress to the quarter-finals.