Sitiveni Waica Sivivatu (born 19 April 1982 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 ...

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 ...

) is a retired New Zealand

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, playing on the position of a

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 was largely successful in the 2005 Super 12 season playing for the Chiefs. He acquired a starting position in the

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 ...

, and scored 29 tries in 45

tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

. He also scored 4 tries 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 ...

in 2004 – 2 against the All Blacks, and 2 against

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 ...

. Since the Pacific Islanders team has been sanctioned by the IRB, his 4 tries for them stands.

Early life

Sivivatu attended

Ratu Kadavulevu School Ratu Kadavulevu School is a school in Lodoni, Fiji. It has some 900 students and is one of the largest boarding schools in the country. Its students are multiracial, but predominantly Indigenous Fijians. The school was founded in 1924 as the Pr ...

in Fiji before moving to New Zealand when he was 15. He attended Wesley College, the school that produced All Blacks great

Jonah Lomu Jonah Tali Lomu (12 May 1975 – 18 November 2015) was a New Zealand professional rugby union player. Lomu is considered to have been the first true global superstar of rugby, and consequently had a huge impact on the game. He is widely regarde ...

. He first played in 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 ...

with second division side Counties Manukau, eventually moving to the first division with

Waikato Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton City ...

. He was the only 2nd division player in NZ to win a Super Rugby contract. He regards as his hero

Philippe Sella Philippe Sella (born 14 February 1962, in Tonneins) is French former rugby union player. He started as a rugby league junior in his home town before switching to rugby union. As a former French rugby union player, he held the record for most intern ...

because "he could just do anything on the field of play. If he decided to drop he could do it from anywhere within his range, and he was an amazing player with ball in hand."

Pacific Islanders

Sivivatu played for the inaugural

Pacific Islanders rugby union team The Pacific Islanders was a combined international rugby union team that played from 2004 to 2008. It represented Fiji, Samoa and Tonga; Niue and the Cook Islands also supplied players to the squad for their tour in 2004. The team did not play at R ...

against the

Australian Wallabies The Australia national rugby union team, nicknamed the Wallabies, is the representative national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of Australia. The team first played at Sydney in 1899, winning their first test match against the ...

in 2004. Among his teammates were

Sione Lauaki Sione Tuitupu Lauaki (22 June 1981 – 12 February 2017) was a Tongan-born New Zealand rugby union footballer who played for Aviron Bayonnais, Bayonne. He previously played for the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks. His brother, Epalaham ...

who also became an All Black. Sivivatu and fellow All Black wing

Joe Rokocoko Josevata Taliga "Joe" Rokocoko (pronounced , born 6 June 1983) is a New Zealand former professional rugby union player, who played as a wing. Born in Fiji, Rokocoko grew up in New Zealand and played for the Blues and Auckland. He later played f ...

regard themselves as "cousins" as Sivivatu lived with the Rokocoko family.

All Blacks

He was first named in a trials squad for All Black selection in 2004. He made his Test debut against

and broke the All Blacks record by scoring four tries. Sivivatu was selected for the All Blacks in 2005 and started in all three of the All Blacks Tests against the

British & Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

on their 2005 tour of New Zealand, scoring tries in the first two Tests.

Move to France

In March 2011, he signed a two-year deal with French rugby giants, ASM Clermont Auvergne. He was signed as a replacement for Fijian flyer Napolioni Nalaga, who returned to Fiji due to personal problems. He was not included in the New Zealand squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. In June 2016, Sivivatu retired as a player for Castres and joined the staff as a technical adviser and help integrate foreign players.

Controversy

On 11 April 2007 Sivivatu pleaded guilty to slapping his wife in March 2007. He was discharged without conviction and ordered to pay a fine. On leaving court Sivivatu said "I'm clearly sorry about what I did". It is believed that Sivivatu is joining the New Zealand Warriors in 2023 as their defensive coach, which has surprised many Rugby Union critics.

References

Sources

*''

SA Sports Illustrated ''SA Sports Illustrated'' was a South African sports magazine published in print monthly. History and profile Founded by Richard Whittingdale in 1985 as owner, founder and editor. The Swimwear edition also founded in 1985 by Richard. Richard ra ...

''. "My Hero: Four All Black rugby players reveal their sport heroes." October 2008: 35.

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sivivatu, Sitiveni 1982 births New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand people of I-Taukei Fijian descent New Zealand international rugby union players Chiefs (rugby union) players Counties Manukau rugby union players Waikato rugby union players ASM Clermont Auvergne players Rugby union wings Fijian emigrants to New Zealand People educated at Wesley College, Auckland Living people Sportspeople from Suva Expatriate rugby union players in France People educated at Ratu Kadavulevu School