Former Crusaders, Western Force and Chiefs winger Manasa Mataele will don the Fijian Drua colors for the 2026 Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific season.
This will mark Mataele’s 10th Super Rugby season only this time he gets to do it on his homeland.
The former Flying Fijian has made 58 Super Rugby Pacific appearances.
He appeared 32 times for the Crusaders, 24 with the Western Force and two with the Chiefs.
Originally from Vanuavatu, Lau with maternal links to Yasawa-i-Rara, the 28-year-old is known for both scoring tries and setting them up, normally leading match statistics for line breaks.
In 2022, Mataele had the second highest statistics in the entire competition for clean breaks and metres gained.
The former Marist Brothers High School student who grew up in Raiwai, will bring this invaluable experience to a young Fijian Drua backline for next year.
Mataele is delighted to return home.
“I’m feeling excited and really looking forward to be representing the Drua next season.”
Fijian Drua General Manager Rugby, Baden Stephenson said “Manasa is a quality player who has been in good programs and knows what success looks like. His experience will be invaluable as will his ability to find the tryline and
be a natural communicator in the back three positions.”
Mataele was part of the Fiji under-18 team in 2015.
He made his debut for the Flying Fijians in 2021 and has made four appearances since. He also made 51 New Zealand provincial appearances- 31 for the Canterbury and 20 for the Taranaki.
