Contract

The Fiji Times - Wednesday, August 06, 2008 6:47 PM

CONTRACT: FIJI rugby coach Ilivasi Tabua says loose head prop Graham Dewes has proven himself on the world stage.

FIJI rugby coach Ilivasi Tabua says loose head prop Graham Dewes has proven himself on the world stage.
Tabua made the comments in the wake of the Esher club in England's Division One, not renewing his contract, citing non-performance.
Dewes is best remembered for scoring the winning try in the 38-34 win over Wales in the final pool match at the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
That try put Fiji into the quarter-finals for the first time since 1987.
Dewes, the hard working prop, who featured in the recent Pacific Nations Cup, joined Esher in December.
Esher coach Mike Schmid said while Dewes had started to show improvement, the club decided not to renew his contract.
Schmid told the Surreycomet.co.uk there were all sorts of gambles when a club signed players, but he was disappointed with Graham.
"I know coming out of a World Cup can affect players but he just didn't do it for us," Schmid said.
"His fitness scores weren't good enough and that meant he couldn't show us what he could do on the pitch.
"It's always difficult bringing players to a different country and so much depends on how he settles.
"Our expectations were high for Graham but he didn't meet those expectations.
"I don't want to be too harsh on him because he did buckle down at the end and started to show us what he could do but it was too late in the day by then."
Tabua said everyone knew Dewes' capabilities, and now were in the process of finding a new club for him.
"I can't say much as to what actually transpired at Esher," Tabua said.
"All I can say is that he has proven himself and we all know he gives it a 100 per cent.
"There could be some issues that led to this."
Esher failed in a bid to sign former sevens star Rupeni Nasiga, a hitch because of immigration rules.
Schmid had agreed a contract for the promising 22-year-old 6ft 6in lock.
But the deal depended on Nasiga being handed a starting Test cap in the PNC.
However, that did not happen as Nasiga only won a debut cap off the bench in the final clash against Tonga and the deal was dead.
"It's such a shame because Rupeni has a lot of potential and is regarded as a real up-and-coming player," Schmid said.
"All the feedback we had about him was positive and he seemed an exceptional fit for what we are trying to do here.
"His agent promised us he would start one of the capped Tests but it wasn't to be and immigration rules are very cut and dried.
"He had to start a Test or there would be no visa. It's such a shame."