Sale still waiting for 'Lightning' to strike

Samoan Sevens star Mikaele Pesamino's proposed move to Sale Sharks has suffered yet another setback.

The flyer known as 'Lightning'  was last season's IRB Sevens series top points scorer, but must now pass an English exam to be granted access into the United Kingdom.

The 26-year-old's arrival at Sale has been delayed due to his involvement in the Samoan Commonwealth Games sevens team and Test squad for the tour of Europe.

At columniation of Samoa's tour Pesamino must fly to New Zealand to write the English exam required for him to complete all the paperwork to be granted a work visa.

"The current state of play is that Mikaele still hasn't sat his English exam in Auckland," Sharks coach Mike Brewer told the Manchester Evening News.

"He can't sit that in Samoa so, after the Samoan national team play Scotland this weekend, he's flying back to Apia with the Samoan squad and then he's going to Auckland to sit his exam.

"And, hopefully, from then he'll be able to come over to us in the New Year.

"He has to apply to sit the exam which, no doubt given the bureaucracy that goes with these things, will be a two or three-week period and that being the case we won't bring him over just before Christmas with a wife and one-year-old child.

"Coming from the Southern and Pacific Oceans I just know how these things work. It’s a little bit like their version of Manana over in Spain!"

After setting the world alight with his blistering pace in the Sevens arena, Pesamino is turning his attention to the 15 man code.

"Mikaele's moved on from Sevens and he wants to come here and develop as a 15s player," Brewer added.