Isireli Bobo (born 28 January 1976), 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 ...

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.

Early career

Early in his career, he played for

Grupo Dramático e Sportivo Cascais Grupo Dramático e Sportivo Cascais is a Portuguese rugby union team. It had a player, Paulo Murinello, at the Portuguese squad that participated at the 2007 Rugby World Cup finals. It also has a team that plays in Liga Portuguesa de Futsal Lig ...

, a

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

team. He was in the Nawaqavesi 7s and was subsequently picked to play at the Japan 7s in 1998. He also played with the Fiji sevens side at the

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

and

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

sevens circuits. He then signed with Spanish club UCM Canoe, and the side went on to win the King's Cup in the 2001 season. Stade Toulousain - Racing Métro 2

He returned to

for the 2002 season and went on to captain the sevens side in 2003, as well as becoming a try-scoring machine; scoring 22 in just three tournaments.

2003–2010

He subsequently signed with

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

for the

National Provincial Championship The National Provincial Championship may refer to: * National Provincial Championship (1976–2005), original competition before reform into 14 sides * National Provincial Championship (2006–present) The National Provincial Championship, o ...

(NPC). He played 13 matches for the

club, scoring seven tries. He then was called up to the

Super 12 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 played five games for the

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

. He made his international debut for

on 5 June 2004 in a match 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 Nuku'alofa which Fiji won by one point, 27 to 26, with Bobo scoring the winning try. He earned his second cap for Fiji on 12 June in the win 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 July he played four times for 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 Oce ...

team (a combination of the best Fijian, Samoan and Tongan footballers). He scored a try for

Biarritz Olympique Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque (; ), usually known simply as Biarritz, is a French professional rugby union team based in the Basque city of Biarritz, Nouvelle-Aquitaine which competes in the Pro D2, the second division of French rugby. Biarritz p ...

in the

2005–06 Heineken Cup The 2005–06 Heineken Cup was the eleventh edition of the European Heineken Cup rugby union club tournament. 24 teams from 7 countries took part, with the opening game played on Friday October 21, 2005. Munster won the tournament, beating Biarritz ...

final against

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

, though Biarritz eventually lost the final 23 points to 19. However, Biarritz made it to the final of the 2005–06 Top 14 as well, and were victorious against

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

, with Bobo scoring one of Biarritz's tries. He finished the season as Biarritz's top try scorer, and second in the overall competition. In 2007 Bobo signed for Racing Métro and was called up -as a reserve- to the Fiji 2007 Rugby World Cup squad, playing in the quarter final loss to the eventual winners

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

2010–present

In June 2013, he heeded the call of his nation by joining the team for the

2013 IRB Pacific Nations Cup The 2013 Pacific Nations Cup rugby union tournament was held between five national sides in the Pacific Region: Canada national rugby union team, Canada, Fiji national rugby union team, Fiji, Japan national rugby union team, Japan, Tonga national r ...

, In the first minute of their game against

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, he made a break passing the ball onto his winger, Adriu Delai who ran 20 metres and passed it to him to score. He could not travel to Canada due to visa delays but was instrumental in Fiji's next 2 games and in their last game against

, he ran 60 metres to score Fiji's first try and helped Fiji win the PNC for the very first time. He signed a contract with a Japanese club, NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes for 5 years which means he will play for the club till the age of 42.Fijian flyer Bobo signs new deal
/ref> On 14 June 2014, he became the oldest player ever to represent Fiji when he ran onto the field at 38 years and 137 days old against Tonga. He left Japan and joined Top 14 side

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...

in late 2014. After a successful season, he retired from Rugby at the end of the season only to be recalled again by Top 14 Giants, Toulon as a 'medical joker' for the duration of the

2015 Rugby World Cup The 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was onl ...

in which he scored 3 tries in 5 games and on 1 November, newly promoted club Pau signed him on from Toulon for the remainder of the 2015–16 Top 14 season.

References

External links

*
Fiji profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bobo, Sireli 1976 births Fijian rugby union players Living people Rugby union wings Biarritz Olympique players Racing 92 players NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes Osaka players Wellington rugby union players Hurricanes (rugby union) players Fiji international rugby union players Pacific Islanders rugby union players Fijian expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in France Expatriate rugby union players in New Zealand Expatriate rugby union players in Portugal Expatriate rugby union players in Japan Expatriate rugby union players in Italy Fijian expatriate sportspeople in New Zealand Fijian expatriate sportspeople in France Fijian expatriate sportspeople in Japan Fijian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Fijian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Fiji international rugby sevens players Male rugby sevens players People from Rakiraki I-Taukei Fijian people