Tevita Kuridrani (born 31 March 1991) 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 ...

an-born Australian

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 outside-centre. He is currently with French club

Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; Basque also ; oc, Biàrritz ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain. ...

and previously played for the

Brumbies The ACT Brumbies (known from 2005–2022 as simply the Brumbies) is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), The team competes in Super Rugby and named for the feral horses which inha ...

and

Western Force The Western Force is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Perth, Western Australia, currently competing in Super Rugby Pacific. They previously played in Super Rugby from 2006 until they were axed from the competition in 2017. ...

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 ...

. Kuridrani has sixty caps for in international rugby.

Family and early life

Ratu Tevita Kuridrani was born 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 ...

to Inosi and Litiana Kuridrani, and grew up in the small Fijian village of Namatakula. He began playing rugby while a student at Vatuwaqa Primary School, and was part of the Suva Milo Kaji team playing in the under-12 and 13 grades. He attended Lelean Memorial School in Suva, before moving with his family to Australia in 2007. Kuridrani attended

Corinda State High School , motto_translation = Not only for today but for tomorrow also , established = 1960 , principal = Helen Jamieson , type = Public, co-educational, secondary, day school , city = Brisbane , state ...

, and played rugby league and rugby union in Brisbane. Kuridrani is related to several well-known representative rugby players. He is the nephew of

Noa Nadruku Noa Nadruku (born 19 September 1967) is a Fijian former rugby footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. After representing Fiji in rugby union, he switched to play rugby league in Australia for the Canberra Raiders (92 games between 1993 and ...

, and the cousin of

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 ...

, Samu Wara, Nemani Nadolo, and Chris Kuridrani.

Rugby career

After playing Premier Colts rugby in 2009 for University of Queensland Rugby Club, Kuridrani was chosen for the Brisbane Under-19 team at the end of that year. In 2010, he was selected for the Fiji Under-20 team and played at outside centre in the

2010 IRB Junior World Championship The 2010 IRB Junior World Championship was the third annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams, this competition replaced the now defunct under 19 and under 21 world championships. The event was organised by rugby's ...

in Argentina. He was a member of University's Premier Rugby team that won the Hospital Cup in 2010, and was chosen for the Brisbane Under-19 team once again. Kuridrani was selected for the Australia 7s team and played in the 2010–11 IRB Sevens World Series. He joined the

Queensland Reds The Queensland Reds is the rugby union team for the Australian state of Queensland that competes in the Southern Hemisphere's Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996, they were a representative team selected from the rugby union club competitions ...

Academy for 2011. Kuridrani played on the wing for the Australia under 20 team at the

2011 IRB Junior World Championship The 2011 IRB Junior World Championship was the fourth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams, this competition replaced the now defunct under 19 and under 21 world championships. The event was organised by rugby's ...

in Italy, before being signed by

Jake White Jake White (born 13 December 1963 as ''Jacob Westerduin'') is a professional rugby union coach and former coach of the South African national team – the ''Springboks'' – whom he coached to victory in 2007 Rugby World Cup and the 2004 Tr ...

to join the

prior to the

2012 Super Rugby season The 2012 Super Rugby season was the second season of the current 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition, which involves teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. For sponsorship reasons, this competition is known as FxPro Super ...

on a two-year deal. In 2012, he made his

debut for the Brumbies against the Reds off the bench in Brisbane. In his second season at the Brumbies, Kuridrani established himself as the team's first-choice centre, and he was a member of the starting side for the Brumbies which defeated the

British and 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 nationa ...

in 2013. After the Brumbies had played in the Super Rugby final in 2013, Kuridrani was selected for the Wallabies squad by coach

Ewen McKenzie Ewen James Andrew McKenzie (born 21 June 1965) is an Australian professional rugby union coach and a former international rugby player. He played for Australia's World Cup winning team in 1991 and earned 51 caps for the Wallabies during his te ...

. He made his test debut for against in Sydney on 17 August 2013. Later that year, Kuridrani was sent-off for a tip-tackle while playing for Australia against and was suspended from playing for five weeks. His high work rate has seen him consistently be selected for the Wallabies and he has also won many "Man of the Match" awards.

Super Rugby statistics

Reference list

External links

Brumbies profile

Wallabies profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuridrani, Tevita 1991 births Living people Australian people of I-Taukei Fijian descent Australian rugby union players Australia international rugby union players Australia international rugby sevens players ACT Brumbies players Rugby union centres Sportspeople from Suva I-Taukei Fijian people Barbarian F.C. players Greater Sydney Rams players Western Force players Biarritz Olympique players