RUGBY: Croatia Bolstered By Kiwi, French And Australian Croats Ahead Of Netherlands Clash
- by croatiaweek
- in Sport
Croatians from rugby powerhouses New Zealand, Australia and France have arrived in Croatia to help bolster the Croatian Rugby side ahead of their important clash with the Netherlands in Zagreb this Saturday.
Mario Ozic and Caleb Brown have made the 24-hour flight over from New Zealand, whilst Jai Ayoub has flown in from Australia for the fixture. French-Croat Matej Roncevic will also be making his debut for the red and white checkers.
“He is born in France, he speaks Croatian, and he contacted us himself that he would love to play for Croatia,” said Croatian Rugby Federation Secretary Veceslav Holjevac about the debutant, adding that he even paid his own way over to Zagreb.
“It is not uncommon that players contact us with Croatian heritage, but it is mainly usually from New Zealand. It is expensive to bring them over so we check out their quality down there first with our contacts,” added Holjevac.
The Netherlands are 8 points ahead of Croatia on the table in European Nations Cup A2.
