Iosefo Masikau Baleiwairiki also known as either Iosefo Masikau or Iosefo Masi (born 9 May 1998) 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 ...

footballer who plays for the

Fijian Drua The Fijian Drua (currently known as the Swire, Swire Shipping Fijian Drua for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby union team based in Fiji that competes in the Super Rugby. The team was created by the Fiji Rugby Union and launched in ...

in the

Super Rugby 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 ...

. Known for repeatedly slicing his way through the opposition defensive line has earned him the nickname, the "Slice Man". He is a former rugby sevens player, winning a gold medal 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 ...

at the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

. He won a gold medal at the

2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens The 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens was the eighth edition of the Rugby World Cup Sevens organised by World Rugby. The 2022 tournament, comprising 24 men's and 16 women's teams as previously, was played over three days in one venue in September. It ...

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

Career

Rugby Sevens

Masi was selected to the national team after his impressive performances at the 2020 Fiji Bitter Marist 7s tournament where he also scored a hat-trick in one of the matches. Masi made his debut appearance at the Olympic Games in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

representing

in the men's rugby sevens tournament.

Rugby League

On 20 September 2021, Masi signed with the

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

-based

North Queensland Cowboys The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest town in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL). Sinc ...

in the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

(NRL) on a train and replacement contract. He trained with the Cowboys' NRL squad and played with the

Townsville Blackhawks The Townsville & Districts Blackhawks are an Australian semi-professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, Queensland. They compete in Queensland's top rugby league competition, the Queensland Cup. The club was admitted to the Que ...

in the

Queensland Cup The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and is contested by four ...

in 2022.

Rugby Union

In 2022, Masi returned to rugby union, joining the

.https://drua.rugby/content/fijian-drua-unveil-2023-squad-and-first-ever-development-group

References

External links

* 1998 births Living people Fiji National University alumni Fijian rugby league players Fijian rugby sevens players Fijian rugby union players Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic rugby sevens players for Fiji Olympic gold medalists for Fiji Olympic medalists in rugby sevens Rugby union flankers Rugby union centres Rugby union wings Rugby sevens players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Fijian Drua players Townsville Blackhawks players Fiji international rugby union players 2023 Rugby World Cup players Fiji international rugby sevens players Rugby sevens players at the 2024 Summer Olympics {{Fiji-rugbyunion-bio-stub