Nikola Matawalu (born 8 March 1989) 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 ...

international

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 in the scrum-half position but can also cover

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

. He plays for

US Montauban US Montauban ( oc, Union Esportiva Montalban) is a French rugby union club that currently competes in Rugby Pro D2, the second level of the country's professional league system. They have also competed at the top level, Top 14, in the past, most ...

in the French

Rugby Pro D2 Rugby Pro D2, also known as Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was in ...

. He previously played for

Glasgow Warriors Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became t ...

. He had over a 100 appearances for the Glasgow club and won the

Pro12 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

title with them in season 2014-15.

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

While at

, Matawalu was drafted to various amateur sides within their district to play when not in use by the professional side. In 2012-13 season this was

Aberdeen GSFP Aberdeen Grammar School FP RFC, also known as Aberdeen Grammar, are an amateur rugby union club based in Aberdeen, Scotland. They currently compete in the . The club plays its home games at Rubislaw in the city's west end. Honours *Scottish Na ...

, in 2013-14 season this was

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...

, in 2014-15 season this was

Glasgow Hawks Glasgow Hawks is an amateur rugby union team in Glasgow, Scotland. They were Premiership Division One champions for three consecutive seasons from 2003–04 to 2005–06. History In Paris on 27 August 1995 a meeting of the International Rugby ...

. Matawalu was drafted to Stirling County in the

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish ...

for the 2018-19 season. He played one game for the 2 Scots in the 2021 Edinburgh City Sevens tournament.

Professional career

Niko joined

for the start of the 2012–13

season on a one-year contract. He made his Warriors debut away to

Cardiff Blues Cardiff Rugby ( cy, Rygbi Caerdydd) are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby competitions. Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms ...

, coming off the bench to play at scrum-half, becoming Warrior No. 212. He impressed during his first season, scoring 9 tries in 22 appearances, and was awarded with a contract extension to keep him at the

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

club until 2015. He was voted Glasgow Warriors player of the season for 2012-13 - and for the 2014–15 season; Glasgow's

title-winning season. He was also part of the Glasgow Warriors side that won the Melrose Sevens in 2014 and 2015. In December 2014, it was announced that he would join English Premiership outfit

Bath Rugby Bath Rugby is a professional rugby union club in Bath, Somerset, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Founded in 1865 as Bath Football Club, since 1894 the club has played at the Recreation Ground in the c ...

for the 2015-16 campaign. In November 2016, it was announced he had signed for Exeter Chiefs. His time in Exeter was disrupted when he was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in December 2016, something he was cleared of in August 2017 - having already been released by the club. On 31 August 2017 Glasgow Warriors announced that they had re-signed Matawalu on a year's contract with the option of a second year. Kept on, Matawaku would finally leave the club at the end of 2021-21 season, becoming a club centurion along the way. Of his time at the Warriors he said:

When I first joined Glasgow Warriors in 2012 the biggest thing that stood out to me was the culture that the players created. I loved how the club had clans, traditions and customs – all like Fiji. A lot of things have changed over my years here but what makes Glasgow Warriors special hasn’t. Glasgow is my second home and I feel an immense sense of pride to have been part of this wonderful club. Every time I pulled on the Warriors jersey the most important thing for me was to enjoy every moment.

On 31 August 2021 it was announced that he had signed for French Club

Montauban Montauban (, ; oc, Montalban ) is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department, region of Occitania, Southern France. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, an ...

International career

In May 2010 he was selected to represent Fiji in their 2010 tour to Australia.

References

External links

Junior World Champs Profilefrom rugbynews.co.nz

Fiji LiveBath Rugby Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matawalu, Nikola 1989 births Living people Fijian rugby union players Fiji international rugby union players Glasgow Warriors players Fijian expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in Scotland Fijian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Rugby union scrum-halves Rugby union wings Sportspeople from Suva Male rugby sevens players I-Taukei Fijian people Bath Rugby players Exeter Chiefs players Stirling County RFC players Fijian expatriate sportspeople in England Aberdeen GSFP RFC players Ayr RFC players Glasgow Hawks players People educated at Suva Grammar School US Montauban players