Osea Kolinisau signs for Houston Strikers

Fiji's Olympic gold medal winning sevens captain Osea Kolinisau has signed with the Houston Strikers, who are scheduled to contest the inaugural Major League Rugby competition in the United States.

The 31-year-old made his debut for the Fiji sevens team in 2008 and led them to back to back World Series titles in 2015 and 2016 and sevens gold at last year's Rio Olympics.

"I'm thankful to the Lord and the Strikers management for this exciting opportunity to be a part of the Houston Strikers Rugby family. I'm looking forward to the new challenge," explained Kolinisau."

Former Fiji sevens coach Ben Ryan and ex Flying Fijians prop Joe Veitayaki helped to arrange the deal for Kolinisau, who was last year appointed an Officer of the Order of Fiji.

"Osea is one of the finest players I've ever coached and easily the best captain," commented Ryan.

"The most capped and most successful Fijian sevens player of all time - he has become an all-time great both in Fiji and in the world of sevens."

Strikers' head coach Justin Fitzpatrick said Kolinisau is "a player with a bucket load of individual ability which is well documented for those familiar with the World Sevens Series.

Justin Fitzpatrick has also had coaching stints with Pakistan and US Eagles. Nine teams are expected to take part in the inaugural Major League Rugby season, which is scheduled to kick-off in 2018.