Waratahs to lose another Wallaby as Tigers pounce

Wallabies centre Izaia Perese has announced he will leave the Waratahs at the end of the season to take up a two-year deal to play under Australian coach Dan McKellar with English giants Leicester Tigers.

Perese will join Roosters-bound Mark Nawaqanitawase in NSW’s departure lounge, giving Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt another selection headache as he tries to pull together his first squad for July’s Test against Wales in Sydney.

Perese broke the news to Waratahs fans and members on Thursday as the team prepared to travel to Fiji for Saturday’s match against the Drua in Lautoka. He said his decision to move to England was motivated by family reasons.

“I just want to let you know first-hand that this will be my last season, and I’ve signed for two years over at Leicester Tigers,” Perese said.

“It was a very, very difficult decision to make, but it was also the best decision to make for me and my family going forward.

“Thank you so much for your support over the last four seasons. I’m going to be finishing this season off strong, and putting it all into this week’s game.”

Izaia Perese will leave the Waratahs at the end of the season to join the Leicester Tigers Credit: Getty

The 26-year old centre has played five times for the Wallabies, including a starting appearance against Portugal in the 2023 World Cup. Perese has shown strong early-season form for the Waratahs, including a try in the narrow two-point loss to the Highlanders.

Nawaqanitawase will make his 50th appearance for the Waratahs in Lautoka, where he will be boosted by a group of Fijian relatives coming to watch him play in person.

“It’s been crazy, knowing that I’d be able to do my 50th in Fiji,” Nawaqanitawase said. “All the family are super excited and they’re going to get out there to the game to support us, which will be cool. I think the whole village is trying to get out there, which would be pretty cool.

“It’s just hard trying to find some tickets because they’ve already sold out the whole thing, so that’s been pretty special.”

An already daunting assignment for the Waratahs at a capacity Churchill Park could be made even more difficult by the torrential rain which has been falling consistently in western Fiji for the last week.

Flash flood warnings have been issued for low-lying areas of Fiji and all schools have been shut, but according to figures at the Drua, the game is still expected to go ahead.

Director of Fiji’s National Disaster Management Office Vasiti Soko is monitoring the situation and said that her team would work with Fiji Meterology to ensure the safety of fans at the game.

“We are waiting for the Fiji Meteorology team for guidance regarding the weather and we are aware that many fans travel to the west to watch the games. We are monitoring for the safety of fans,” Soko told the Fiji Times.

“The weather has improved in some areas around the country but we will need to get advice first from the weather office before we reach out to organisers.”

Watch all the action from the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season, with every match ad-free, live and on demand on Stan Sport.

Sports news, results and expert commentary. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.