‘Like a homecoming’: Edinburgh Rugby’s agile new winger well aware of his dad’s history

Satala’s dad played for the club 20 years ago, combining a career in the army with his rugby.

Private Apolosi Satala, now 47, served with the Royal Scots and his time included a tour of duty in Basra during the Iraq war. He signed for Edinburgh soon after, following stints with Heriot’s, and brought the same wholehearted commitment to the rugby field.

Prior to playing in Scotland, Satala senior had already enjoyed a stellar international career, helping Fiji win the Rugby World Cup Sevens by beating New Zealand in the final in Hong Kong. He was also capped at XV-a-sides and Malelili knows his dad is a tough act to follow but is determined to do the family name proud after signing from Leicester Tigers.

“I'm looking forward to it, knowing that my dad used to play here, it's like a homecoming,” said Satala junior who was born in Edinburgh but returned to Fiji with his family when he was six months old. “It's not me chasing his shadow but dad set an example. He set a good baseline so now I've got to chase after it and try to live up to the name.”

Malelili Satala, at 20, is just making his way in the game. A dynamic winger, he was part of the senior academy at Leicester and played for them last season in the Premiership Cup, scoring a try on his debut against Northampton Saints. He has been part of the England Under-20 set-up but is also eligible for Scotland and Fiji and is keeping an open mind on his international future.

I'm Scottish-qualified

“I was born in Edinburgh so it was in the back of my mind, knowing that I'm Scottish-qualified,” he said. “It's good to have it in the back pocket. I'm also qualified for England and Fiji but now that I'm here in Scotland I need to try to get my face known and show what I can do in the URC.”

Understandably, he doesn’t want to get ahead of himself and feels no need to nail his international colours to the mast just yet.

“Yeah, like I said, whichever comes first, I'm open-minded, we'll see where the wind blows.”

He describes himself as “explosive and agile” and is looking forward to learning from Duhan van der Merwe and Darcy Graham, two world-class wingers on the books at Edinburgh. “It's good to have these guys around, they push you and there's a lot of things you can learn from them,” said Satala.

His dad is also a good sounding board and has given him one-to-one coaching over the years. He is also fully behind the Edinburgh move.

Dad's got a bit of a history about him

“He told me, ‘mate, you're in good hands. There's a good bunch of players, a good bunch of coaches, you'll enjoy your time there’. The only difference is just getting used to the weather, so we'll see how it goes.

“Dad's got a bit of a history about him, I've known that because I've seen him play. But also there's a history that he's left here in Scotland, in Fiji, in England, and also in the army before he joined Edinburgh. So yeah, there's a lot of people who are a bit surprised that the surname Satala is back in Edinburgh. They keep thinking it's him, but no, it's his son.”