The Highlanders have announced that former England and British and Irish Lions centre Riki Flutey is set to join their coaching team as the franchise’s skills expert.
The 28-year-old won 14 caps for England, as well as starting in the final test of the Lions’ 2009 tour of South Africa. He helped the invitational side to victory over the Springboks in that test, a match which gave Flutey the then unique accolade of having played both for and against the Lions, having taken them on with the Maori All Blacks four years earlier in 2005.
He featured for both London Irish and London Wasps during his time in English rugby, which followed a stint in Super Rugby with the Hurricanes, before he finished up his career with the Ricoh Black Rams in Japan.
Born in Wairarapa, Flutey was also a member of the New Zealand team that won the U19 World Cup in 1999.