Talei call-up hits Warriors

The former Doncaster Knights man mountain has been deputising at number eight for Warriors in the on-going absence of first-choice Kai Horstmann.

However, Sixways director of rugby Mike Ruddock will now have to rely on promoting an academy youngster - such as Jake Abbott, James Collins or Marr Cox - into the first XV.

Ruddock said: "We will miss Netani's contribution during the autumn period, particularly as we've got two home Guinness Premiership games.

"There are still doubts over the fitness of Kai to do with his ongoing rib problem, which has been slow to recover.

"This could open up a number of opportunities for young players like Jake Abbott, who scored three tries for Warriors ‘A’ against Leicester Tigers this week, and also James Collins and Marr Cox.

"We also have a number of exciting youngsters with players like James Freeman, who has already played a part in our pre-season fixtures, as well as Dave Askew, who has impressed whenever he has been on the field for the ‘A’ team.

"We wish every one of our internationals every success when they are given the opportunity to play international rugby and, as such, I feel the experience with benefit Netani hugely and make him an even better player for the Warriors in the future."

Fiji have named a 30-man squad that includes 14 members of the 2007 Rugby World Cup team that performed so admirably in France by beating Wales to reach the quarter-finals and gave eventual champions South Africa an almighty scare.

The squad also includes back pairing Mosese Rauluni, of Saracens, and Nicky Little, of Bath, who will now both miss games against Warriors during the autumn period.

Talei is set to go head-to-head with Warriors team-mate Alex Grove when Fiji play Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday, November 14 before travelling to Dublin to tackle Ireland on Saturday, November 21 and concluding with a game in Romania on Saturday, November 28.