Gloucester Rugby: Almost a sting in the tail for Lua Lokotui's Kingsholm switch
LUA Lokotui has revealed he chose Gloucester over a crack at the Super 15 with Wellington Hurricanes, or a move back to France or Japan.
But the 33-year-old Tongan lock's Premiership switch would never have happened had his agent not double-checked his facts.
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belief: Lua Lokotui is relishing the hard graft at Gloucester
Lokotui toured the Northern Hemisphere with Tonga in the autumn, keen to impress on international duty and secure a move to England.
When whispers of Premiership interest whipped up, Lokotui said he jumped at the chance – even more so when he found out the actual club who were keen.
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"Before the autumn tour there was some talk of interest in Europe, and my agent said it was London Wasps," explained the former Stade Francais and Wellington second-row.
"So that whole time I was thinking it was Wasps, but he got mixed up and it was Gloucester!
"When I found out it was Gloucester that were interested it was massive though.
"I signed for Wellington to play in the National Provincial Championship after the World Cup, and I had an option to stay with the Hurricanes at the end of the year.
"There were a couple of potential options in France and Japan too, but I really wanted to come to England.
"Things went well with Wellington, and at the time I said to my wife 'I've got a bit left in me here' so she told me to give it a good go.
"I went on tour with Tonga, my agent was talking to clubs at the time, this offer then came up and I didn't need much time to say yes."
Tonga team-mate Sione Kalamafoni employed the powers of social media to give Gloucester the big sell.
And now Lokotui is relishing the hard Kingsholm graft.
The former Hawke's Bay captain sealed his Gloucester move on December 12 – but did not arrive at Kingsholm until last week, as he had to wait for his visa.
Targeting silverware in his 18 months with the Cherry and Whites, Lokotui said he would not have left New Zealand if he was not intent on winning trophies in England.
He continued: "I was on Facebook messaging Sione all the time, and he was telling me how much he was loving it, and what was going on.
"He really loves it here, and I think that was important in my decision to come here.
"I just like to get my head down and do the hard yards.
"I'll let those young guys do the flash stuff and I'll just get stuck into the tight work.
"The goal is definitely to win trophies, we need to push towards that.
"We've got to push ourselves hard to make that happen.
"I want to learn from the experienced players here, try to feed off that to help myself settle well.
"I wouldn't have come halfway around the world with my family if I wasn't serious about this move."
Gloucester host rivals Bath in an LV=Cup West Country derby on Saturday (kick-off 2pm).
Lokotui made his debut in Saturday's 26-7 Northampton defeat, and admitted this week has been spent understanding the depth of the local derby feeling.
He added: "The boys have been chirping in my ears about this game being must-win, that it doesn't matter how we do it, but we've just got to get the result.
"It's going to be a massive game and I can't wait to get out in front of the Kingsholm crowd.
"I've heard great things about Kingsholm, it will be a fantastic experience – but we've just got to win this game."
22 Comments
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by RoryGlaws
Thursday, January 31 2013, 8:57AM
“Without a doubt, we desperately need Rupert Harden, Gloucester Rugby's top rated tight head, back and playing in the game against Saints at Franklin's Gardens. They have a top notch front row and we will need to put out our best (i.e. Rupert Harden) to tackle them. Remember, he came out on top in the front row battle against them at the start of the season.”
by RoryGlaws
Wednesday, January 30 2013, 7:55PM
“Rupert Harden is the number one tight-head at Gloucester. He is the head coach's first choice; he is the best and we need him back to start against Bath & Saints.”
by StanFromGlaws
Wednesday, January 30 2013, 7:51PM
“9 out of 13 starts is the key stat. here and proves that Harden is Gloucester's top tight head.”
by Brasher
Wednesday, January 30 2013, 7:50PM
“RUPERT HARDEN owns the tight head position at Gloucester.”
by Steve_Bronko
Wednesday, January 30 2013, 7:48PM
“Can I just take this opportunity to re-emphasise that Gloucester's best tight head is Rupert Harden. 9 out of 13 premiership starts is the killer fact.”
by Drusus
Wednesday, January 30 2013, 7:46PM
“Harden is Gloucester's first choice tight head, that is the fact that the troll Barkyhead/Kap721/akadua can not stand. He really hates it.”
by Buggsie
Wednesday, January 30 2013, 7:45PM
“Rupert Harden = first choice tight head.”
by freshhglaws
Wednesday, January 30 2013, 7:42PM
“Nigel Davies says that Rupert Harden is his first choice starting tight head. Who am I to argue with the experts. On the other hand, the troll barkyhead/Kap721/akadu believes he is more of an expert than Nigel Davies.”
by jasonbennett3
Wednesday, January 30 2013, 7:39PM
“When it mattered in a winnable game, Sarries dominated our front row and Gloucester lost the game. You just know that that wouldn't have happened if Harden had been on the field.”
by Gambonie
Wednesday, January 30 2013, 7:39PM
“For all this guff we are getting from the troll of many names and identities (currently pushing his barkyhead ID) he can't get away from the fact that is wholly attributable to Rupert harden, which is that he is the number 1 tight head at Gloucester. The number of times he has been selected to start proves it.”