Hull FC could not compete with offer that takes Ratu Naulago back to union

The exciting Fijian winger will return to rugby union at the end of this season after the Premiership club secured him on a lucrative deal on Tuesday.

Naulago, a serving soldier with the Yorkshire Regiment, has been a revelation since Hull spotted the rookie playing for the British Army sevens side and offered him a trial in East Yorkshire.

He earned a deal last year and – hailed the ‘Tank on the Flank’ _- has gone on to score 17 tries in 21 appearances for the Airlie Birds, having instantly proved his quality in the 13-man code.

With his electric pace, brutish strength and punishing defence, it was no surprise Naulago, 28, quickly became a fans’ favourite and the club did their utmost to try and extend his contract into 2021.

In the end, though, they were massively out-priced by a Bristol side who have already spent heavily on securing fellow Fijian winger Semi Radradra – the former NRL star – for 2020-21 along with England and British Lions prop Kyle Sinckler.

The salary cap in the Premiership currently stands at £7m which dwarfs Super League’s £2.1m.

Bristol – backed by the riches of Steve Lansdown – are one of those pushing for it to remain despite a damning report into the system after shamed champions Saracens’ gross and regular flouting of the rules.

Following the coronavirus and its expected financial impact, there are calls to reduce the cap limit in union yet there are the same arguments being made in Super League, too.

Pearson is one of the owners who believes it needs to be cut but is he not worried that will only open up the chance of more top-class players leaving for union or to the Australian NRL where the cap is set at more than £5m?

“I don’t think the NRL is as much of a threat as the flow seems to be under control and there’s a decent quality coming in and out of there,” he said, with Super League clubs having secured the likes of high-profile NRL stars James Maloney, Aidan Sezer, Gareth Widdop and George Burgess this term.

“But I don’t think we’ve ever been able to compete with rugby union.

“The offer that they made to Ratu is probably three times where we were and, for a winger and at that age with that experience and the number of wingers we have in the squad, we’re not chasing a dream on that.

“He goes with our full blessing. He’s earned his break. It’s come late to him in his career and I’m really pleased for him.”

Naulago, who came to the UK when 18 to join the Army, has been given a temporary release from active service to pursue his rugby career and will be closer to his family when he does move to Bristol.

But Pearson is not dismayed at losing the talented player and added: “You’re dealing here with some owners who have billions.

“You have got to be sensible as we have our eye on other projects in rugby union and the Army and the Navy.

“We’re quite confident we’ll unearth a couple more (like Naulago). That’s the way we have to approach things at the moment. But it will turn again.

“We’ve got an extensive squad anyway. It just needs to fire. We need to start playing some rugby under Andy (Last).”

Due to the pandemic, Hull have been out of action since March 12, the night head coach Lee Radford lost his job after a dismal home loss to Warrington Wolves.

Assistant Last took over as temporary coach but, bizarrely, more than two months later, has still yet to take charge with the squad and staff on lockdown days later and then furloughed.

They have also accepted pay cuts in light of the crippling effects of Covid-19 so does the Black and Whites chairman expect issues from his players if they then see the salary cap reduced to £1.8m as well?

“From our point of view, if it did happen, what it would mean is the vast majority of players are unaffected by that,” insisted Pearson, who is one of half-a-dozen club chiefs who are in favour of making the temporary measure for 2021.

“I think it would just mean we’d have a slightly smaller senior squad and more younger players pushing through and hopefully getting a chance.

“That’s the way we intend to handle it (if it does happen) through a natural erosion of contracts as they come to an end.

“Then we’ll look to two or three of the Academy boys to come through over the next couple of years plus Cameron Scott. It’s time for those boys to take the positions of players like Ratu now.”

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