Akapusi Qera (born 24 April 1984) is a Fijian professional

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 ...

player. A Flanker or No.8. He is married to wife Phillipha Talei and together they have four children. Qera is also from a Christian sporting family; his father was an international cricketer for Fiji and his brother also played international rugby for Fiji. He is also a first cousin of Fiji test international

Viliame Veikoso Viliame Veikoso (born 4 April 1982 in Suva, Fiji) is a Fijian rugby union footballer. He plays as a hooker. Veikoso hails from Nabua village, tikina Koroalau from Cakaudrove Province. he is also related to Akapusi Qera of Gloucester. Veikoso ...

. Qera is a current test international and 15's captain for Fiji Qera has also represented the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be les ...

. Whilst playing for

Pertemps Bees There have been three rugby clubs, each one a separate legal entity, that have borne the ‘Birmingham & Solihull’ name: ◆ Birmingham & Solihull Rugby Football Club Ltd ('the first club'), founded in 1989 -as an industrial and provident ...

during the 2006–2007 season he was voted Fiji rugby player of the year. Later in the season he was nominated for Fiji sportsman of the year, finishing second to golfer

Vijay Singh Vijay Singh ( hif, विजय सिंह ; born 22 February 1963), nicknamed "The Big Fijian", is a Fijian professional golfer. He has won 34 events on the PGA Tour, including three major championships: one Masters title (2000) and two ...

. A key player for Fiji during their

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 2 ...

campaign in France, he scored three tries and was later voted third in the

Guinness Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

player of the season awards for 2007–08. Since his debut season at

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

, Qera has gone on to captain the Fijian national side and also be awarded the Gloucester Player of the Year award in 2010.

Club career

Qera's first professional club were Colonial Cup side

Coastal Stallions The Coastal Stallions is a former Fijian rugby union team. The Coastal Stallions is a Fijian former rugby union team that had a franchise area coverering Nadroga-Navosa, Namosi, Serua and Malolo. The team played in Fiji's premier rugby union co ...

whom he played for during the 2005–2006 season. During his time with the Stallions, Qera made numerous representative appearances for the Fiji U21 side and

Fiji Warriors The Fiji Warriors, also referred to as Fiji A, is a national representative rugby team of rugby union in Fiji. It is the second-tier side to the Fiji national team. The Warriors team is selected from players in the Fijian domestic competi ...

before progressing to the test squad in 2005. In total Qera made seven appearances for the Stallions scoring seven tries. Qera then relocated to play professional club rugby in England for the

. During the 2006–2007 season at

he was the club's top try scorer and the highest scoring forward in

National Division One The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men’s English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when ...

. Qera moved to

, who play in the

, at the start of the 2007–08 season. He scored his first try for the club against

Bourgoin Bourgoin-Jallieu (; frp, Brégon) is a commune in the Isère department in the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in France. The city had 28,834 inhabitants in 2019 and lies 35 kilometres east-southeast of Lyon. It was formed by the merger of th ...

in a 51–27 victory for

at Kingsholm. On 17 January 2008, Qera signed a new contract with

until 2010. On 19 April 2008 Qera scored a hat-trick in Gloucester's Guinness Premiership match versus

Leeds Carnegie Leeds Carnegie was a brand name used by several sports teams associated with the Carnegie School of Physical Education, now part of Leeds Beckett University. These include: Current * Leeds Carnegie Handball Club Changed name * Leeds Carnegie ...

. In May 2008 Qera was nominated for the Guinness Premiership Player of the Year award for 2007–08, eventually finishing in third place behind England internationals

Olly Barkley Oliver John Barkley (born 28 November 1981) is a former English people, English rugby union player who played for Bath Rugby, Bath, Gloucester Rugby, Gloucester, Racing Metro 92, Racing Metro, FC Grenoble, Grenoble, Scarlets and London Welsh at ...

and

James Simpson-Daniel James David Simpson-Daniel (born 30 May 1982 in Stockton-on-Tees) is a former English rugby union footballer who played wing or centre for Gloucester Rugby. He attended Red House School & Sedbergh School in the Yorkshire Dales, which has produc ...

. Dean Ryan (then Gloucester head coach) said of Qera's debut Premiership season, "Akapusi's impact on the Premiership last season was tremendous and he produced a number of world class performances". In July 2008 Qera had surgery to repair his anterior cruciate ligament and as a result he missed the start of the 2008–2009 season. Qera marked his return from injury with a try, coming off the bench to score in the corner in Gloucester's 24–22 win over

London Wasps Wasps Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union team. They last played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby until being suspended on 12 October 2022. On 17 October 2022 the club entered administration, resulting in r ...

in March 2009. As a result of injury he made just 6 appearances for Gloucester during the season. On 24 January 2010 Qera scored his second hat-trick for Gloucester in the Heineken Cup win over

Newport Gwent Dragons Dragons RFC ( cy, Dreigiau) are one of the four professional rugby union regional teams in Wales. They are owned by the Welsh Rugby Union and play their home games at Rodney Parade, Newport and at other grounds around the region. They play in ...

. He finished the 2009–2010 season with 10 tries from 31 first team appearances, proving his world class scoring rate and was Gloucester's second top overall try scorer for the season. He was voted Gloucester Rugby player of the season for 2009–2010. After suffering from

Bell's Palsy Bell's palsy is a type of facial paralysis that results in a temporary inability to control the facial muscles on the affected side of the face. In most cases, the weakness is temporary and significantly improves over weeks. Symptoms can vary fr ...

towards the start of the season Qera scored his first try of the campaign against

Exeter Chiefs Exeter Chiefs (officially Exeter Rugby Club) is an England, English professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1871 and since 2006 has played i ...

. Further scores came against

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...

in both the LV Cup and Premiership fixtures in February. He completed the season with 20 appearances in all competitions. During the 2011–2012 season, Qera crossed the try-line against

, Harlequins, London Wasps and Newcastle Falcons in the Premiership as well as against Toulouse in the

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

. In February 2012 he signed a two-year contract extension at Gloucester and also received his first call up for the

for their summer internationals, making his debut against England at Twickenham. Qera finished the club season having made 24 appearances in all competitions for Gloucester and was named in The Rugby Paper's Premiership XV. A permanent fixture in the Cherry and Whites side during throughout the season, Qera crossed for scores against both London Irish and Leicester Tigers in the Premiership. He then scored in consecutive matches against London Welsh (in the LV Cup), Sale Sharks (for which he was awarded Premiership try of the week), Saracens and Harlequins. In total he made 29 appearances and was included in the 6-man shortlist for Premiership player of the season (won by Leicester and England hooker Tom Youngs). Qera made six first team appearances in for the 2013–2014 season. On 14 December 2013, it was announced Qera would leave Gloucester mid-season in the 2013/14 season as he signed a contract to join

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

in the French

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

under the 'Medical Joker' rule, effectively on 1 January 2014. On 14 June 2014, Qera will leave Toulouse to join Top 14 rivals

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

from the 2014–15 season. On 1 June 2017, Qera signs for another French club, which is

Agen The communes of France, commune of Agen (, ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne Departments of France, department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. ...

, newly promoted to the Top 14 from the 2017-18 season. On 12 December 2018, Qera returns to England to sign for

Hartpury College Hartpury University and Hartpury College, formerly Hartpury College, is a provider of further and higher education which describes itself as specialising in the "agriculture, animal, equine, sport and veterinary nursing" sectors. The university a ...

, based near his old club

, in the

RFU Championship The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men’s English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when ...

for the remainder of the 2018-19 season.

International career

Qera had represented Fiji at U19 and U21 level before making his full Fiji debut against

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

in 2005. He was included in the Fiji sevens training squad for 2006–2007 but was unable to attend due to his

contract. In 2007 he was named Fiji Rugby Player of the Year. Qera made an impressive impact at the

. After scoring in the non-cap warm up match against

SC Albi Sporting Club Albigeois is a professional French rugby union club playing the third-level Nationale. During the past years it went back and forth between Top 14, the highest level of the French league system and the second-level Rugby Pro D2. The ...

, he crossed for two tries in his side's 31–35 win over

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Qera then played in the game against

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 ...

four days later and also played and scored the opening try in the 38–34 victory over

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 ...

. This win clinched Fiji's qualification to the quarter finals in which they lost 37–20 to the eventual World Champions

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. In 2008 Qera played in the summer test against Samoa, starting from the bench. He also expressed a desire to represent Fiji at the

Rugby World Cup Sevens Rugby World Cup Sevens (RWCS) is the quadrennial world championship of rugby sevens, a variant of rugby union. Organised by World Rugby, it currently consists of men's and women's tournaments, and is the highest level of competition in the sport ...

, however ultimately did not participate. In 2009 Qera captained the national side against Scotland during Fiji's European tour. After missing the 2010 summer tests, Qera made his first appearance in a year for Fiji in the November test against France in

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

. He then played in the subsequent tests against Wales and Italy. In June 2011, Fiji head coach Sam Domoni named Qera in the 43-man training squad for the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

to be held in New Zealand. After starting at flanker in summer tests against Japan and New Zealand, Qera was handed the captaincy for the home test versus Tonga due to the resting of World Cup captain Deacon Manu. A surprise non-starter in Fiji's opening pool game, a 49–25 victory versus Namibia, Qera came off the bench to make his first appearance of the tournament. He subsequently started at flanker in the defeat to South Africa, before featuring off the bench in the final pool games against Samoa and Wales. Qera received his first call-up to the

in the summer of 2012 and after making his debut against England also featured in the fixtures versus Ireland and Wales. He originally opted to miss Fiji's 2012 European tour in favour of playing for Gloucester, however was a late inclusion to the Fiji squad ahead of their test versus England. In May 2013 Qera was named in the Flying Fijians squad for the Pacific Nations Cup and captained the side in the 20–8 victory over Japan and 20–18 loss to Canada. In the Canada fixture Qera scored his first test try since 2007. He has also played in non-cap matches against Australia A,

and the

Junior All Blacks The All Blacks XV is the second national rugby union team of New Zealand, after the All Blacks. New Zealand's second national team has had numerous names in its history: Junior All Blacks, New Zealand XV, New Zealand A, New Zealand B, All Blacks ...

twice.

International tries

European Club statistics

Stats correct as of June 2012

Awards

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Qera, Akapusi 1984 births Living people People educated at Lelean Memorial School Fijian rugby union players Rugby union flankers Gloucester Rugby players Montpellier Hérault Rugby players Stade Toulousain players Fiji international rugby union players Birmingham & Solihull R.F.C. players Fijian expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in England Expatriate rugby union players in France Fijian expatriate sportspeople in England Fijian expatriate sportspeople in France Sportspeople from Suva People from Sigatoka I-Taukei Fijian people People educated at Whanganui City College People educated at Suva Grammar School