Sisaro Dautu Koyamaibole (born 6 March 1980) 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 ...

player. His usual position is at number eight. Koyamaibole also plays for

, including playing in 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 ...

, the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 2 ...

and the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

, and has played for the Fiji Sevens in rugby sevens tournaments. At club level, he has represented

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dist ...

Petrarca Padova Petrarca Rugby is a rugby union club from Padua, Italy, currently competing in the top tier of the Italian rugby union, the Top10. Founded in 1947, the team is the rugby union branch of the Unione Sportiva Petrarca, an omnisport club that inclu ...

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

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 ...

Lyon OU Lyon Olympique Universitaire or LOU is a French rugby union team based in Lyon that currently competes in the Top 14, the highest level of the country's professional league system, having been most recently promoted for the 2016–17 season af ...

, Bordeaux Bègles and currently plays for

Brive Brive-la-Gaillarde (; Limousin dialect of oc, Briva la Galharda) is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture and the largest city of the Corrèze department. It has around 46,000 inhabitants, while the population of the agglomeration was 75 ...

Career

Born 6 March 1980 in

Suva Suva () is the capital and largest city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rewa Province, Central Divi ...

, Koyamaibole began his international career in 2001 making his debut 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 ...

. Koyamaibole was one of the few local Fijian club players to be selected for the

. In 2004 Koyamaibole moved to the Number 8 position where he also played 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 Ocea ...

. After showing impressive form for the Pacific Islanders that year, Koyamaibole was given a contract with

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 ...

club Counties Manukau. A year later he moved to

, but missed most of the season due to injury and then a long suspension. He played every test for Fiji between 2001 and 2004, however between 2005 and 2007, Koyamaibole did not play any Tests for Fiji. This was reportedly due to a falling out with

Wayne Pivac Wayne Pivac (born 1962) is a New Zealand rugby union coach. In November 2019 he replaced Warren Gatland as the Wales national team coach. A former sworn officer in the New Zealand Police, he was a constable at the Takapuna police station on A ...

, then coach of Fiji.

2007 World Cup

When Fiji announced their 30-man squad for the

, Koyamaibole was one of the most experienced members, one of only four players to have more than 30 caps at the time. Koyamaibole was part of the Fiji team that knocked

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 ...

out of the tournament by winning 38–34, and played in Fiji's first quarter-final at a

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

since the

1987 Rugby World Cup The 1987 Rugby World Cup was the first Rugby World Cup. It was co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia – New Zealand hosted 21 matches (17 pool stage matches, two quarter-finals, the third-place play-off and the final) while Australia hosted 11 ...

. Although they lost 37–20 to 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 ...

, Fiji received a standing ovation from the crowd despite South African player

Jaque Fourie ''Jaque'' (Spanish for the Chess move ''check'') was a Spanish chess magazine, published twice a month in Valencia. It started in San Sebastian in 1970 and was the Spanish leading chess magazine since then. Some of the best chess players in the ...

commenting before the match that Fiji did not deserve the respect of the Springboks. Koyamaibole played five matches in the tournament, playing at number eight on four occasions.

Toulon

It was announced in June 2008 that Koyamaibole would join French club

RC Toulonnais Rugby Club Toulonnais (), also known as RCT but usually Toulon; oc, Rugbi Club Tolonenc) is a French professional rugby union club based in Toulon in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. A current participant in the first-tier Top 14 competition, they ...

. He was one of several players signed by the club as the club prepared for the 2008-09 Top 14 season – the top level of the national league system of France – having secured promotion the previous season. The club struggled to avoid relegation for most of the season, although managed to stay in the top flight. Koyamaibole left the club at the end of the season and was offered a contract with English club

Sale Sharks

In May 2009 it was announced that Koyamaibole had signed a two-year contract for

Guinness Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

side

. Kingsley Jones, Sale's director of rugby, described Koyamaibole as "a gifted athlete who is very mobile around the field" with "excellent discipline". He was one of several players signed by Sale in the off-season after the departure of

Philippe Saint-André Philippe Georges Saint-André (; born 19 April 1967) is a former French rugby union footballer and currently the manager of Top 14 side Montpellier. He earned 69 test caps for France between 1990 and 1997. His preferred position was wing but h ...

as director of rugby and several players. Jones requested that Koyamaibole try to lose nearly 3 stone to slim down to the weight of 18.5 stone, as he was at the 2007 Rugby World Cup. Koyamaibole commented that Sale was different to the clubs he had previously been a part of, with a focus on professionalism and fitness. It was possible that commitments to Sale would conflict with international duties, but he has stated that "if I can be released by the club then I'll be more than happy to play for Fiji". Koyamaibole made his debut for Sale on 4 September 2009, dominating the

scrum Scrum may refer to: Sport * Scrum (rugby), a method of restarting play in rugby union and rugby league ** Scrum (rugby union), scrum in rugby union * Scrum, an offensive melee formation in Japanese game Bo-taoshi Media and popular culture * M ...

with fellow Sale-debutant Jack Forster. The match, which was the opening game of the 2009–10 Guinness Premiership, was won by Sale who defeated the

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...

, the defending champions, 15–12. Koyamaibole had a good start to his Sale career, his strong carrying a joy to behold. Koyamaibole was given a two-week ban starting on 26 January 2011, for kicking

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 ...

' Richard Wigglesworth during Sale's 28–22 victory over the club.

References

External links

Sale Sharks profile

Fiji profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koyamaibole, Sisaro 1980 births Living people Lyon OU players Fijian rugby union players Rugby union number eights RC Toulonnais players Sale Sharks players Fiji international rugby union players Pacific Islanders rugby union players Fijian expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in New Zealand Expatriate rugby union players in France Expatriate rugby union players in Japan Expatriate rugby union players in England Expatriate rugby union players in Italy Fijian expatriate sportspeople in New Zealand Fijian expatriate sportspeople in Japan Fijian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Fijian expatriate sportspeople in England Union Bordeaux Bègles players Sportspeople from Suva I-Taukei Fijian people