FIJIAN international back-row Mesu Kunavula has agreed a new deal with Edinburgh for the now-customary unspecified period of time.
The 26-year-old joined the capital club from Fiji Sevens in 2019 and has since made 16 appearances, the most recent of which saw hims grab two try assists in Friday night’s 66-3 European Challenge Cup win against Brive.
Kunavula – who was part of a sevens side that claimed silver at the 2018 Common wealth Games – made his Fijian Test debut against Georgia at BT Murrayfield in 2020, crossing the whitewash on his first-ever appearance.
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“Firstly, I want to thank the Lord God for giving me strength and power and I want to thank all of the staff and coaches for giving me a chance and a new opportunity with a new deal. I really appreciate it and I’m really happy,” said Kunavula.
“Edinburgh feels like home, it means a lot to me. I’ve never signed for another club, so I appreciate it here. I enjoyed being back on the field after being away injured, which was tough for me, but I was really happy to be given another chance against Brive.
“I’m looking forward now. I’m happy because I’m getting a lot of opportunities to play. Next year is a World Cup year, so I’m going to work hard to improve myself and I want to try hard to play as much as I can.”
Head coach Mike Blair added: “It’s brilliant that we’re able to re-sign Mesu. He’s a player with a hugely exciting skillset and a guy that is really popular at the club.
“His physical threat is obvious but he also has great awareness of the space around him. He uses his offloading game to exploit that space, which was evident in Friday night’s win over Brive. I thought he had an exceptional game.
“It’s great that Mesu feels like Edinburgh is home and we’re really excited to see him continue to develop among a talented back-row group.”
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Is that what Dodson’s calling himself now? I’ll happily go along with it if we win next Saturday.