FANS’ favourite Cooper Vuna says his ‘chill mode’ days are behind him as he looks to put in the hard yards for newly-promoted Worcester Warriors this season.
The dynamic wing is set to begin his first full campaign at Warriors having moved from Japanese outfit Toshiba Brave Lupus in March.
And Vuna will be hoping to pick up from where he left off in the Greene King IPA Championship as he crossed the whitewash eight times in nine appearances.
His tries, including a scintillating hat-trick against Cornish Pirates, made him an instant hero with the Sixways faithful.
But the 28-year-old, who previously played for Melbourne Rebels and won two caps for Australia in 2012, admitted it was not easy to adapt to English rugby.
“It was definitely a massive shock at the start because it is not as professional in Japan,” he said.
“I had to get my body adapted to professional rugby again and into the style of rugby as it is totally different game to southern hemisphere.
“So on the way here I thought I would try and do something. Instead of just being a number, I wanted to add to what the boys had done.”
Vuna said he enjoyed his time in Japan and revealed there was an opportunity to return to Asia at the end of last season.
But the Tongan born back, who switched from league to union in 2011, said the lure of testing himself against the best in the country proved too much.
“It was up in the air as I was only focused on the short term and there was a question mark about whether I would stay or go back to Japan,” Vuna said.
“But I needed to play rugby. I have only played three years in Australia and I was still learning so I needed a little bit more under my belt.
“And if I was to go back to Japan I would be going back to chill mode.
“It was massive for the boys to get up to the Premiership. It is a massive challenge for us and I wanted to be part of it.”
Warriors are set to welcome wing Bryce Heem later this month and Vuna believes the New Zealand will make an influential impact.
“He has got a bit of spark about him and has done well for the Chiefs,” he said. “He will chuck us all on board and we are going to get out there and score a lot of tries.
“Everyone is excited and pumped up about it and we are definitely going to get it there and give it our all.”