Caleb Muntz (born 30 October 1999) is a Fijian

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, currently playing for the in

Super Rugby Pacific Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

and the Fiji national men's team. His preferred position is

fly-half In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

. He was part of the Fijian Under 20 team in 2018 and 2019, played an unofficial game for Fiji against 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 less c ...

in 2019, before making his official debut for the senior team in 2023.

Early life

Caleb Muntz was born in Huntly, New Zealand to a Maori mother and a father of Fijian and European descent. He began playing rugby at the age of four in nearby

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, where he grew up, and later represented

Hamilton Boys' High School Hamilton Boys' High School is a boys' secondary school in Hamilton, New Zealand and is the largest secondary school in the Waikato region. The school was established as Hamilton High School in 1911 but was later split into separate boys' and gir ...

. He qualifies to play for

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 ...

through his paternal grandmother, who is from

Savusavu Savusavu () is a town in the Fijian Province of Cakaudrove. The town is located on the south coast of Vanua Levu Island and had a population of 3,372 in the 2007 census. Savusavu is known as "the hidden paradise of Fiji." Geography Savus ...

and paternal grandfather, who is from Rewa. Muntz is fluent in Te Reo, a language of the Māori people of New Zealand.

Professional career

Muntz was named in the Fijian Drua squad for the

2022 Super Rugby Pacific season The 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season (known as Harvey Norman Super Rugby Pacific in Australia and DHL Super Rugby Pacific in New Zealand) is the 27th season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams fr ...

. He had previously represented the Drua in the

2019 National Rugby Championship The 2019 National Rugby Championship was the sixth season of the top flight of Australian domestic rugby union. The competition began on 31 August and concluded on 26 October. The match of the round was broadcast live each week on Fox Sports and ...

International career

Muntz was named in the Fijian training squad for the

2023 Rugby World Cup The 2023 Rugby World Cup is scheduled to be the tenth men's Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It is scheduled to take place in France from 8 September to 28 October 2023 in nine venues across the cou ...

. He later made his debut for Fiji against

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

Lautoka Lautoka () is the second largest Local government in Fiji, city in Fiji. It is on the west coast of the island of Viti Levu, in the Ba Province of the Western Division, Fiji, Western Division. Lying in the heart of Fiji's sugar cane-growing r ...

on 22 July 2023, scoring 9 points (1 penalty, 3 conversions). On 8 August 2023, he was named in the final group of 33 players selected by

Simon Raiwalui Simon Raiwalui (born 8 September 1974) is a Fijian former rugby union player. He served as the General Manager for his former French club, Racing Métro 92. He currently co-manages Stade Français. He has represented Fiji national rugby union team ...

to participate in the World Cup in France. Shortly thereafter, in only his fourth match, Muntz was part of the Fijian team that beat

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

for the very first time on 26 August 2023 at

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

. He started at flyhalf and scored 15 points (3 penalties, 3 conversions).

References

External links

* 1999 births Living people Rugby union players from Huntly, New Zealand People educated at Hamilton Boys' High School Fijian rugby union players Rugby union fly-halves Rugby union fullbacks Fijian Drua players Fiji international rugby union players {{Fiji-rugbyunion-bio-stub