Ifereimi Rawaqa (born September 20, 1980 in Vuda,

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 ...

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 ...

) 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. He plays as a lock or

flanker Flanker may refer to: * Flanker (perfume), a newly created perfume sharing attributes of an existing one * Flanker (rugby union), a position in rugby union (not found in rugby league) * ''Su-27 Flanker'' (video game), a 1996 computer game modelin ...

Career

In 2002, when he was still 21 when he made his test debut in the victory over

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

Apia Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa, as well as the nation's only city. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō ...

. After four matches as a substitute, he made his first start 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 ...

in the 47-20 win at

Prince Charles Park Prince Charles Park is a stadium in Nadi, Fiji. The stadium has a nominal capacity of 18,000 people. It currently hosts rugby union matches, football (soccer) matches, and special events. The venue hosted the final of the football Oceania ...

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 ...

, and celebrated with a well-worked try from 35 metres out when he raced onto a chip over the top from Seru Rabeni. His build makes him an ideal line-out jumper, but he is also equipped with speed to match most wingers. Injury saw him miss the 2003 early-season trials and he did not feature in the warm-up matches against

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 ...

or Tonga. When

Apenisa Naevo Ratu Apenisa Naevo (born 24 February 1973) is a Fijian rugby union 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. Naveo ma ...

pulled up late in the first match of the New Zealand tour last August, Rawaqa was called up. He also led his provincial team Lautoka to both major trophies in Fiji in 2003 – the Telecom Cup and the Farebrother-Sullivan Trophy, which is a challenge competition similar to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Ranfurly Shield The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Shield is based on a challenge system. The holding union must defend the shield in challeng ...

. In 2004 Rawaqa was selected in the Pacific Islanders team where he started all 3 test matches. After an impressive showing for the Islanders he was offered a contract to play for

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

but turned it down preferring to play for Japanese club

World Fighting Bull World Fighting Bull were a Japanese rugby union team that played in the county's Top League Japan Rugby League One (formerly the Top League) is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in ...

. Rawaqa showed his pace when he outran the

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 ...

backline to score under the posts in what was so nearly an historic win for Fiji at

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

in 2005, when Fiji lost 11-10.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKnR1n2DDTY He has played at two world cups, 2003 and 2007 being part of the historical quarter-final reaching team. He was also part of Fiji's

2005 Rugby World Cup Sevens The 2005 Rugby World Cup Sevens or the Melrose Cup was the fourth edition of the Rugby World Cup Sevens. The tournament was held in Hong Kong at Hong Kong Stadium. Fiji defeated New Zealand in the final to take the Melrose Cup for the second time ...

winning team. He is the elder brother of Fijian International

Taniela Rawaqa Taniela Rawaqa (born April 30, 1986) is a Fijian rugby union player. He plays fullback, presently with the Western Crusaders in the Colonial Cup and with the Fiji Warriors in the Pacific Rugby Cup and internationally with Fiji. He is the young ...

who plays fullback for Fiji.

References

External links

Fiji profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rawaqa, Ifereimi 1980 births Living people Sportspeople from Lautoka Fijian rugby union players Rugby union locks Rugby union flankers Fiji international rugby union players Fijian expatriate sportspeople in Japan Fijian expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in Japan Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi players Fiji international rugby sevens players Male rugby sevens players I-Taukei Fijian people