Knee injury rules Fiji playmaker Caleb Muntz out of World Cup

Fiji have been dealt a blow ahead of the Rugby World Cup after flyhalf Caleb Muntz was ruled out of the tournament with a knee injury sustained in training on Monday.

New Zealand-born Muntz, 23, only made his Fiji debut against Tonga this year but has quickly become a key member of the team.

"Caleb sustained a knee injury in a non-contact session and is out of the Rugby World Cup," head coach Simon Raiwalui confirmed in a statement on Wednesday.

"It's most devastating for us as a group and for Caleb, he has worked so hard for the past two years with the Fijian Drua and for Flying Fijians. We feel for him as a young man (that) he misses the opportunity so close to the Rugby World Cup."

Muntz kicked 15 points as Fiji beat England 30-22 in their final warm-up game last month.

Raiwalui is assessing his options in terms of a replacement and will make a decision in the next couple of days. Teti Tela is the only other specialist flyhalf in the squad.

The Pacific islanders are in Pool C at the World Cup and open their campaign against Wales in Bordeaux on Sunday. They also face Australia, Georgia and Portugal in their group.

Listen to the RTÉ Rugby podcast on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

We need your consent to load this YouTube content We use YouTube to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preferences

Listen to live coverage of Ireland v Romania (Saturday 2.30pm) on RTÉ Radio 1, and follow live updates of that game, France v New Zealand (Friday 8.15pm) and South Africa v Scotland (Sunday 4.45pm) on RTÉ Sport Online and the RTÉ News app, with match reports on