Osea Kolinisau, OF (born 17 November 1985) is a Fijian

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 it ...

player who plays for

Old Glory DC Old Glory DC RFC is a professional rugby union team that is a member of Major League Rugby (MLR), founded in 2018. The organization is led by two local business leaders, former USA Eagles' Paul Sheehy and local club rugby player Chris Dunlavey. ...

of Major League Rugby (MLR). He captained the Fiji Sevens side to their first olympic gold medal in the

2016 Rio Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

Early life and education

Kolinisau was born in Suva, Fiji. He attended Ratu Sukuna Memorial School, where he started playing rugby. He went on to play club rugby for Covenant Brother Rugby Club and in the 2012 Coral Coast Sevens tournament, for the Serevi Selects.

Career

Pre-Olympic career

Kolinisau debuted for in the 2008 Dubai Sevens tournament. After a stint playing 15 a side rugby during the 201/11 season for french club

Agen The commune of Agen (, ; ) is the prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. Geography The city of Agen lies in the southwestern department ...

in the French

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

, he captained the first Fiji side to win the Dubai 7s for the 2013–14 Sevens World Series since the Sevens Series began. Winner of HSBC World Series Rugby Sevens 2014–2015 and 2015–2016. He is best known for being the most capped player for the Fiji Sevens team and for leading Fiji to two consecutive first-place finishes in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series for the 2014-15 and the 2015-16 seasons. Osea is the 12th all-time HSBC Sevens Series point scorer with 1272 points. He played in 301 matches and scored 122 tries.

2016 Rio Olympics

At the

, he was the flag bearer for team Fiji. He declared ''"Rugby is Fiji’s number one international sport, I was proud to be able to represent, not only myself and my team, but my family and my country as well. This was a huge achievement."'' Kolinisau was captain for the Fiji sevens team and led them to the gold medal and Fiji's first ever medal at an

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

. Fiji won by beating Team

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

in the final by 43–7 with Kolinisau scoring the first try.

Post-Olympic career

Following the Olympic Games, he was awarded the Officer of the Order of Fiji, which is presented for achievement and merit to Fiji and mankind as a whole. He is also depicted on a commemorative Fiji 7 Dollar Banknote. His coach in the Fiji Sevens team, Ben Ryan, also arranged for a scholarship to be offered to attend Loughborough University, but soon after came the opportunity to go back to 15s and play in the inaugural Major League Rugby season for the

Houston SaberCats The Houston SaberCats are an American professional rugby union team based in Houston, Texas. The team was founded in 2017 and competes in Major League Rugby, the top-level rugby union competition in the United States and Canada that played its f ...

. Kolinisau played for the SaberCats for the 2018-2020 seasons but left the team and played for the

Asia Pacific Dragons The Asia Pacific Dragons, also known as APDs, is a rugby union team based in Singapore that played in the Global Rapid Rugby Showcase Series of 2019. History The team is owned and managed by Carinat Sports Marketing based in Hong Kong. The t ...

at the World Tens Series in Bermuda in October and November 2020. Kolinisau signed with

of the MLR for two matches in April 2021.

Personal life

Kolinisau is married to Mere Tavu Fa. He is a devout Christian, and credits his faith for his achievements in rugby. "''Getting to where I have come in my rugby career took a lot of hard work and training. I’m thankful for all of my father’s teaching and support. As a pastor, my father taught me that with hard work and faith in Jesus Christ, nothing is impossible. I’ve seen that come to fruition in my own life. I always dreamed of playing in the Rugby World Cup. And I was fortunate enough to play in the Olympic Games. I know that it was Christ who gave me my talent and I’m thankful for the opportunities He’s given me to use it for His glory."''

Honours

In 2021,

World Rugby World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...

inducted Kolinisau into its

World Rugby Hall of Fame The World Rugby Hall of Fame (formerly the IRB Hall of Fame) recognises special achievement and contribution to the sport of rugby union. The World Rugby Hall of Fame covers players, coaches, administrators, match officials, institutions and other ...

, alongside

Humphrey Kayange Humphrey Kayange (born 20 July 1982) is a Kenyan former rugby union player and organic chemist. Kayange is known within the rugby sevens community, as he has produced some of the best performances for the Kenya national sevens side. He is a f ...

Huriana Manuel Huriana Manuel-Carpenter (born 8 August 1986) is a New Zealand rugby union player. She plays for the Black Ferns, the New Zealand women's sevens team and Auckland. Rugby career Manuel was part of the Black Ferns squad that won the 2006 and ...

, Cheryl McAfee,

Will Carling William David Charles Carling (born 12 December 1965) is an English former rugby union player. He was England's youngest captain, aged 22, and won 72 caps from 1988 to 1996, captaining England 59 times. Under his captaincy, England won Five ...

and

Jim Telfer James Telfer (born 17 March 1940) is a Scottish former rugby union coach and player. As a player, he won 21 international caps in the amateur era, also having a career as a headmaster at Hawick High School and Galashiels Academy and Forrester H ...

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kolinisau, Osea 1985 births Living people Expatriate rugby union players in the United States Fijian chiefs Fijian expatriate rugby union players Fijian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Fiji international rugby sevens players Houston SaberCats players I-Taukei Fijian people Male rugby sevens players Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Officers of the Order of Fiji Old Glory DC players Olympic gold medalists for Fiji Olympic medalists in rugby sevens Olympic rugby sevens players of Fiji Rugby sevens players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Suva Fijian rugby union players Rugby union wings Rugby union fullbacks SU Agen Lot-et-Garonne players