Solomoni Rasolea
Utility back Solomoni Rasolea has become the latest player to commit to the Western Force by signing a two-year contract extension.
The 23-year-old’s re-signing continues the Force’s retention run that has already seen Nathan Charles, Dane Haylett-Petty, Rory Walton and Chris Alcock re-commit to the Western Australian club in the past 10 days.
Rasolea has been a regular face in the Force’s match 23 over the past two seasons since joining the Force from the Australian Sevens side.
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The powerfully-built former Fiji Under-20 representative has started in 15 of his 21 caps for the club, despite being sidelined for seven matches this season with a broken wrist suffered against the Queensland Reds.
Rasolea says he’s excited about remaining with the Western Force.
“From a rugby view, the decision to stay with the Force was a very straightforward one for me,” he said. “The boys and staff here are excellent, we’ve got great leadership and coaching, and it’s exciting to see how far we can go as a team.
“I love being part of this team. We’ve got a great bunch of boys here and we know that as long as we’re maintaining our standards and keep chipping away, we’ll be a in a good position to go further in this competition.”
“I feel like I’m really starting to find my feet as part of the team at Super Rugby level. It doesn’t matter whether I’ve played on the wing, outside [centre] or inside [centre], I’ve definitely grown in knowledge and understanding the game.”
“Breaking my wrist this season was very frustrating but these things are often beyond our control, and I was able to spend the time working on other areas of my game and fitness which helped me get back for a few games at the end of the season.”
Head coach Michael Foley says Rasolea is continuing to develop into a key attacking weapon in the Western Force backline.
“While Junior’s season was unfortunately disrupted through injury, he still showed what a dangerous player he can be and it’s fantastic to have him re-commit for another two seasons,” he said.
“He’s still only early in his Super Rugby career, but has already begun to develop combinations within our backs squad that will become more potent over time.”