Simon Raiwalui (born 8 September 1974) 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 ...
an former
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 served as the General Manager for his former French club,
Racing Métro 92
Racing 92 () is a French rugby union club based in suburban Paris that was formed in 2001 with the collaboration of the Racing Club de France and US Métro. They were called Racing Métro 92 between 2001 and 2015, when they changed the name to ...
. He currently co-manages
Stade Français
Stade Français Paris Rugby () is a French professional rugby union club based in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The club plays in the Top 14 domestic league in France and is one of the most successful French clubs of the modern era. The ...
. He has represented
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 ...
on a number of occasions. He has also been included in the
Pacific Islanders
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Ocea ...
(combined Samoa, Tonga and Fiji) touring team for Europe in November 2006. His usual position is at lock.
Early life
Raiwalui was born in
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 ...
, New Zealand, but was educated in Australia, where along with playing school rugby, played for club side Manly, from Colts level through to the under-21 side. He was also selected to represent the Australian Schoolboys, alongside other footballers such as
Ben Tune
Ben Tune (born 28 December 1976) is a former Australian rugby union player. He played most of his rugby career on the wing but later switched to outside centre.
Early career
Tune was born in Brisbane and educated at St Paul's School, Bald Hill ...
and
Joe Roff
Joe Roff (born 20 September 1975) is a retired Australian rugby union footballer and a product of the Tuggeranong Vikings Rugby Union Club in Canberra, who played on the wing or at fullback for ACT Brumbies and Australia and played 5 tests as ...
.
Rugby career
In 1997 he left Australia to play rugby in England. He joined the
Sale Sharks
Sale Sharks is a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
Originally founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club, now a distinct amateur club, they adopted the n ...
, and later moved to Wales to play for
Newport
Newport most commonly refers to:
*Newport, Wales
*Newport, Rhode Island, US
Newport or New Port may also refer to:
Places Asia
*Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay
Europe
Ireland
*Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...
. He joined the
Saracens
file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens
Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...
in 2003 and made his debut for the club in September of that year against the
Newcastle Falcons
Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union.
The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football Cl ...
.
He qualifies for Fiji through his parents. He debuted for Fiji against the New Zealand
All Blacks
The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...
. While with Newport, he was selected for the Fijian
1999 Rugby World Cup
The 1999 Rugby World Cup was the fourth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial international rugby union championship. It was principally hosted by Wales, and was won by Australia. This was the first Rugby World Cup to be held in the sport's professi ...
squad. He retired from international rugby prior to the
2003 Rugby World Cup
The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup. Originally planned to be hosted by India, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the Indian Rugby Union and Rugby World Cup ...
in Australia, though he came out of retirement for Fiji in the
Pacific Nations Cup
The Pacific Nations Cup is an international rugby union competition held between three Pacific states: Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. The 2019 edition of the tournament will also include the national teams of Canada, Japan and United States. First held ...
in 2006, and was then selected in the combined Pacific Nations squad.
In February 2023 he was selected as head coach of the Flying Fijians.
References
External links
Simon Raiwaluion Saracens.com
on teivovo.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raiwalui, Simon
1974 births
Living people
Rugby union locks
Fijian rugby union players
Newport RFC players
Racing 92 players
Sale Sharks players
Saracens F.C. players
Fiji international rugby union players
Pacific Islanders rugby union players
New Zealand people of I-Taukei Fijian descent
Fijian expatriate rugby union players
Expatriate rugby union players in England
Expatriate rugby union players in France
Fijian expatriate sportspeople in Wales
Fijian expatriate sportspeople in France
Australian expatriate rugby union players
New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in France
New Zealand rugby union players
New Zealand expatriate rugby union players
Rugby union players from Auckland
Australian rugby union players
New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Wales
Australian expatriate sportspeople in Wales
Australian expatriate sportspeople in France
Fijian expatriate sportspeople in England
Australian expatriate sportspeople in England
expatriate sportspeople in England
An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...
New Zealand emigrants to Australia
New Zealand people of Fijian descent
Australian people of Fijian descent