Only question is, which tour will Denny be on?
That’s according to former England star Mark Cueto who believes Kiwi-born Solomona has an outside chance of a call up in Gatland’s squad for the series against the world champions. If he misses out on that tour, to be named on April 19, Cueto insists the 23-year-old Sale Sharks wing is nailed on for England’s trip to Argentina in June.
Last year he turned down the opportunity to represent England at Rugby League while playing for Castleford, with the Auckland-born finisher claiming: “My heart’s not here, it’s not for England.”
Having now qualified to play for England at Rugby Union through the three-year residency rule he insists he wants to play for his adopted country, thus opening the door for Lions selection.
Cueto, below, said: “It is unlikely, but if it was going to happen under any head coach, that man would be Warren Gatland. That’s because he’s done it before.
“He picked Christian Wade four years ago. He was taken by Gatland with his Lions to Australia having only just played his first England Test in Argentina. He was in a similar position to Denny really. He had only just come on the Premiership scene but was in electric form scoring tries and then got the call up.
“It’s something that’s not done as often now in the professional game as it did in the amateur days when they used to pick an uncapped player to go on a Lions tour. So from that point of view it isn’t out the question.
“Obviously if he doesn’t go to New Zealand, I can certainly see Denny being picked by England to go to Argentina because his form speaks for itself. He’s on the wing to score tries and he’s scored a try in every game that he’s played in.
“He only joined Sale just before Christmas so it’s incredible how quickly he has hit the ground running. But it’s not just his tries, other aspects of his game are very good as well. Defensively he makes very good decisions and his position play is very good because he doesn’t get caught out.
“He also works hard and doesn’t just wait on his wing for the ball to come. So all round you would have to say he is the inform wing in the country.”
Solomona has become the talk of the Premiership having scored 11 tries in 11 games for Sharks since his controversial cross-code move from Cas who are still in a legal battle with Sharks over a £500,000 compensation claim.
He moved straight to the AJ Bell Stadium after ripping up the last two years of his deal in the Super League. And Solomona has been accused of opting to play for England because of the rich rewards Eddie Jones‘ men now enjoy as the highest paid national team in world rugby union.
But Cueto can understand the wing’s decision to pledge allegiance to England and said: “I guess a player would never say he has made a decision like this for the money. But it’s bound to be a factor and at the end of the day we’ve all got to earn a living in life.
“Playing rugby for England in the current climate is rewarded pretty well – they are one of the most financially rewarded teams in the world for sure.
“But it happens across a lot of sports and the All Blacks have done it for years and years. They’ve plucked players out of Tonga and Samoa and picked the best as well, but nothing is really said. But when it comes to us it’s major news.
“It’s not something that has started recently because I played with a number of foreign guys who qualified through the residency rule. That’s the rule and Denny now qualifies because it is just three years and not yet five.
However, Cueto is happy to see the qualification time extended to five years.
He added: “I think we should protect the fact that it should be the best of one country’s players against another. It has to be a level playing field for all countries and not just one or another.
“There was a lot said when Manu Tuilagi got his call up by England. But Manu had moved to England to live when he was seven or eight and made the country his home. He deserved to get his chance with England.”
GARY FITZGERALD
