Ratu ''Ratu'' () is an Austronesian title used by male Fijians of chiefly rank. An equivalent title, ''adi'' (pronounced ), is used by females of chiefly rank. In the Malay language, the title ''ratu'' is also the traditional honorific title to re ...

Apenisa Naevo (born 24 February 1973) is a

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

footballer. His usual position is at lock. He has earned over 30 caps for the national team, after debuting in 1996 and going on to represent them at the

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

. Naveo made his debut for Fiji on September 29, 1996, in a match against

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. Not only did his career get off to a winning start, with Fiji taking the match 64–11, he scored a try on debut. He played two other games that year, another against Hong Kong, and the other against the NZ Maori. After being capped three times the following season he went on to appear five times for Fiji in 1998. In 1999 he played three games during June–July, and then four Tests during August and was then included in the Fiji squad for the

1999 Rugby World Cup The 1999 Rugby World Cup was the fourth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial international rugby union championship. It was principally hosted by Wales, and was won by Australia. This was the first Rugby World Cup to be held in the sport's professi ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. He played two matches during the tournament; the games against

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

during the pool stages. He next played for Fiji in May 2001, and went on to play another five times that season. He went on tour in November of the 2002 season, playing in the games against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. After playing two games in July 2003 he was included in the Fiji squad for the

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup. Originally planned to be hosted by India, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the Indian Rugby Union and Rugby World Cup ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, playing three games, against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, scoring tries in both, and the games against

. Apenisa Naevo is the son of Joeli Lesavua, the younger brother of Ratu Apisai Naevo, the Paramount Chief of Nawaka, in

Nadi Nadi (pronounced ) is the third-largest conurbation in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 42,284 at the most recent census, in 2007. A 2012 estimate showed that the population had ...

. His brother,

Semisi Naevo Ratu Meli Semisi Naevo Saukawa (born 3 May 1975 in Nawaka, Nadi) is a Fijian rugby union player. He plays as a flanker. His nickname is Man Mountain. His father, Joeli Lesavua, and two brothers, Apenisa and Manoa Naevo, are also Fiji reps. Ca ...

, is also a rugby player.

Fiji Team

*Test debut: 1996 vs Hong Kong in Aberdeen *35 caps 6 tries 30 points (49 games, 11 tries, 55 points)

External links

Api Naevo
on rwc2003.irb.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Naevo, Api 1973 births Fijian rugby union players Living people Rugby union locks Fiji international rugby union players Chiefs (rugby union) players Blues (Super Rugby) players Fijian expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in New Zealand Fijian expatriate sportspeople in New Zealand I-Taukei Fijian people Sportspeople from Nadi Rugby Club Vannes players