Taqele Naiyaravoro (born 7 December 1991) is an Australian professional

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 ...

and

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer. His regular playing position is the

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 ...

Early life

Naiyaravoro was born in Sigatoka and attended St Joan Of Arc School. During his younger days was interested in playing rugby union and watching

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 his favourite player was

Lote Tuqiri Lote Daulako Tuqiri (born 23 September 1979) is a former professional dual-code rugby footballer who primarily played as a winger across both codes. He represented Australia in both rugby league and rugby union, and Fiji in rugby league. Tuqir ...

. He played

all through his school days in Fiji and made the national Under 16s team playing both as a winger and flanker. Naiyaravoro was spotted by a player scout from New Zealand during the secondary schools rugby championship in Fiji. He joined Tamaki Sports Academy in NZ and went on to play for Otahuhu Rugby Club in Auckland.

Career

Rugby league

In 2011 Naiyaravoro was recruited to Sydney rugby league club

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional Rugby league, rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a j ...

, where he was playing behind the then incumbent,

Pat Richards Pat Richards (born 27 February 1982) is a former professional rugby league footballer. An Ireland international er, he played in the National Rugby League for Sydney clubs the Parramatta Eels and the Wests Tigers, with whom he won the 2005 NRL ...

David Nofoaluma David Nofoaluma (born 28 November 1993) is a Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays on the for the Wests Tigers in the NRL. He previously played for the Melbourne Storm on-loan from the Wests Tigers and has played at representa ...

and

Marika Koroibete Marika Koroibete (born 26 July 1992) is a dual-code international rugby league and rugby union footballer. He has been capped for Australia's national rugby union team, and plays as a winger for the Melbourne Rebels in Super Rugby. Koroibete ...

for a place in the main squad. He played for the

Balmain Tigers The Balmain Tigers (also known as the Sydney Tigers from 1995–96) are a rugby league club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and one of the most successful in t ...

in the

NSW Cup The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserve ...

. He scored 23 tries in 15 games for the Tigers before an ankle injury ruled him out of the remainder of the season. He was selected into the

Fiji Bati The Fiji national rugby league team, nicknamed the Bati (pronounced ), has been participating in international rugby league football since 1992. The team is controlled by the governing body for rugby league in Fiji, Fiji National Rugby League (FNR ...

test team to play

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

in November 2011, after a good performance during the "''Battle of the Batis''". He made his Test debut on the wing for Fiji in their victory over the PNG Kumuls at

Mount Hagen Mount Hagen ( tpi, Maun Hagen) is the third largest city in Papua New Guinea, with a population of 46,250. It is the capital of the Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea, Western Highlands Province and is located in the large fertile Wahgi Valley in ...

. He was selected in the

team to the

2013 Rugby League World Cup The 2013 Rugby League World Cup was the fourteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup and took place in England, Wales, France and Ireland. between 26 October and 30 November 2013. It was the main event of the year's 2013 Festival of World ...

but dropped out after his ankle-injury. In April 2014, he was selected in to the

side again to prepare for their one-off test against

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 ...

for a berth in the

2014 Rugby League Four Nations The 2014 Rugby League Four Nations tournament was the fourth staging of the Rugby League Four Nations tournament played in Australia and New Zealand over three weeks from Saturday, 25 October to Saturday, 15 November 2014. The series was contested ...

but he pulled out because he had signed a rugby union contract with the Waratahs and was prohibited from playing rugby league. He sought release from the West Tigers after being offered a contract to play for New South Wales in

Super Rugby 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 ...

Rugby union

Naiyaravoro was signed to the

New South Wales Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby competition. The Riverina and other southern parts of the state, ...

followed injuries to regular wingers,

Peter Betham Peter Betham (born 6 January 1989) is a professional rugby union player. He currently plays for the Provence in the ProD2. He was a representative player for Australia in international rugby matches. His usual position is wing or fullback. F ...

and Alofa Alofa. He joined the

Parramatta Two Blues Western Sydney Two Blues Rugby, formerly Parramatta Two Blues Rugby, is a rugby union club based in Parramatta, the second CBD of Sydney, Australia. The club was formed in 1879 and competes in the Shute Shield run by the New South Wales Rugby ...

team in preparation for a starting berth with the Waratahs. He made his rugby union debut in round 7 of the

Shute Shield The Shute Shield is a semi-professional rugby union competition in Sydney, Australia. It is the premier club competition in New South Wales. The Shute Shield is awarded to the winning team from the Sydney premiership grand final held at the end ...

against

Eastwood Eastwood may refer to: Places ;in Australia *Eastwood, New South Wales **Eastwood railway station **Electoral district of Eastwood *Eastwood, South Australia ;in Canada * Eastwood, Ontario *Eastwood, Edmonton, Alberta, a neighborhood ;in the Ph ...

where he scored two tries playing on the wing and at inside centre. On 15 May 2014, he was named on the bench for the Waratahs

round 14 match against the

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...

, where he made his debut off the bench for

Adam Ashley-Cooper Adam Ashley-Cooper (born 27 March 1984) is a former Australian people, Australian rugby union player who last played for the LA Giltinis of Major League Rugby (MLR). He has won 121 caps for Australia national rugby union team, Australia, the th ...

at the 70th minute. He scored his first try in Round 18, coming off the bench in the 70th minute and scoring the try 7 minutes later against the Highlanders. In March 2015, he was linked with a move to

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 ...

joining Scottish club,

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. The club offered him an annual salary of £175,000 to quit Super rugby. The 3-year contract was to allow him to qualify for

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

under the 3-year residency rule. A strong performance by Naiyaravoro in May caught the eye of Wallabies coach

Michael Cheika Michael Cheika (born 4 March 1967) is an Australian rugby union and rugby league coach, and former rugby union player. He is currently head coach of Argentina in rugby union and Lebanon in rugby league. Cheika was the coach of the Australia r ...

but on 18 May it was announced that Naiyaravoro had signed a three-year contract with another Scottish team,

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 ...

. In February 2018 he signed for Northampton Saints in England for the 2018/19 season. He scored his first try for the Saints verses Bristol in a 40-45 win on 29 September.

International career

He was discarded from the final 31-member Wallabies squad for 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 ...

. He was then named in the

World XV A World XV is a rugby union team organised on an unofficial, ''ad hoc'' basis and typically composed of invited players from various countries. Several World XVs have been arranged by various bodies, often to take part in celebration and testimoni ...

team and on 15 August, he made his debut 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 ...

and he scored three tries. He was then named in the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...

team a week later against

. He was recalled by Wallabies coach Michael Cheika and added to an extended Wallabies squad to prepare for their one-off test against

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

on 5 September. During this match, Naiyaravoro came off the bench in the 71st minute to replace

Rob Horne Rob Horne (born 15 August 1989) is an Australian former rugby union footballer who played at centre for the Waratahs, Northampton Saints, and Australia. Early life Horne attended Lugarno Public School and Georges River College, Oatley Campus. ...

on the wing and subsequently scored a try with his first touch of the ball in the 78th minute. After a season with Glasgow, he returned to Australia and was subsequently named in the preliminary 39 member squad for the upcoming three tests against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He was named on the bench for the final test and scored a try after being subbed-in 7 minutes earlier. He re-signed with the Waratahs for the

2016 Super Rugby season The 2016 Super Rugby season was the 21st season of Super Rugby and the first season featuring an expanded 18-team format. It was also the first season that teams outside Australia, New Zealand and South Africa featured, with the Jaguares from Ar ...

onwards replacing New Zealand winger,

Zac Guildford Zachary Robert Guildford (born 8 February 1989) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays for Waikato in the Mitre 10 Cup. A wing, he has won 11 caps for the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks, including during their victorious 2011 ...

and was named in the Waratahs starting side a week later against the

Sunwolves The Sunwolves (Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or ...

. In October 2016, he was renamed in the

side for the

2016 end-of-year rugby union internationals The 2016 end-of-year rugby union internationals, also known as the ''2016 Autumn Internationals'' in the Northern Hemisphere, were a series of international rugby union matches predominantly played between the visiting Southern Hemisphere countries: ...

. He started on the left wing in the first match 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 ...

scoring a try and setting up 2 more for

Luke Morahan Luke Morahan (born 13 April 1990) is an Australian rugby player currently playing for the Bristol Bears in the Premiership Rugby, English Premiership since 2017. Morahan's main position is on the Wing (rugby union), wing, however, he does also p ...

and Andy Ellis and winning the official

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

as well.

Personal life

Taqele Naiyaravoro and his wife Ethel have a daughter and the family did live in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. His English name is Joshua Narawa Naiyaravoro

Reference list

External links

*
Stats
on It's Rugby
Yahoo profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naiyaravoro, Taqele 1991 births Australian rugby union players Australian people of I-Taukei Fijian descent New South Wales Waratahs players Greater Sydney Rams players Balmain Ryde-Eastwood Tigers players Wests Tigers NSW Cup players Western Suburbs Magpies NSW Cup players Rugby league wingers Rugby union wings Rugby league second-rows Sportspeople from Suva Living people Glasgow Warriors players I-Taukei Fijian people People from Yasawa Saitama Wild Knights players Expatriate rugby union players in Scotland Expatriate rugby union players in Japan Barbarian F.C. players Fijian rugby league players Australia international rugby union players People educated at Suva Grammar School Northampton Saints players Green Rockets Tokatsu players