Ben Volavola
Ben Volavola (born 13 January 1991) is a Fijian Australian international rugby union player. He most recently played for Leicester Tigers in England's Premiership Rugby. He has previously played for Agen in the French Pro D2 competition; for Bordeaux Bègles, Racing 92 and Perpignan in the Top 14; Super Rugby clubs such as the , , and the . Volavola typically plays as either a fly-half or full back. Early life Volavola was born in Sydney. He moved to Fiji with his Fijian parents at one-years-old and remained in Fiji until he was eight-years-old, returning to Sydney in 2000 with his mother and younger brother. He is of Fijian descent on his mother's side of the family and Indo-Fijian descent on his father's side. He is the grandson of former Suva Mayor, Ratu Peni Volavola, and of the former Suva netball representative Vasiti Mea Naqova. Upon his return to Australia, Volavola began secondary schooling at St George Christian School (2004), Endeavour Sports High School (2005� ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about 80 km (50 mi) from the Pacific Ocean in the east to the Blue Mountains (New South Wales), Blue Mountains in the west, and about 80 km (50 mi) from Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park and the Hawkesbury River in the north and north-west, to the Royal National Park and Macarthur, New South Wales, Macarthur in the south and south-west. Greater Sydney consists of 658 suburbs, spread across 33 local government areas. Residents of the city are colloquially known as "Sydneysiders". The estimated population in June 2024 was 5,557,233, which is about 66% of the state's population. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2017. The city's nicknames include the Emerald City and the Harbour City. There is ev ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Australia National Under-20 Rugby Union Team
The Australia national under-20 rugby union team, nicknamed the Junior Wallabies, is the national under-20 rugby union team that represents Australia. The team has been competing at the annual World Rugby U20 Championship since it began in 2008, replacing the previously held under-19 and under-21 championships. The team also competes at the Oceania U20 Championship as of 2015 and the U20 Rugby Championship since 2024. Australia's highest finish at the World Rugby U20 Championship was second-place in 2010 and 2019. The team finished third in 2011 by beating France in the third place playoff, and fourth in 2009 after losing to South Africa 32–5 in the third place playoff. The Junior Wallabies also finished second in the first four editions of the Oceania U20 Championship before being crowned champions in 2019 after defeating New Zealand 24–0. Team name The Junior Wallabies name was incorporated into the Australian under-20 crest prior to the 2018 season, but the name was al ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ratu
''Ratu'' () is an Austronesian title used by male Fijians of chiefly rank. An equivalent title, ''adi'' (pronounced ), is used by females of chiefly rank. In the Malay language, the title ''ratu'' is also the traditional honorific title to refer to the ruling king or queen in Javanese culture (though it has since been used in modern contexts to refer to both queen regnant and queen consort of any nation, e.g. "Ratu Elizabeth II" and "Ratu Camilla"). Thus in Java, a royal palace is called "'' keraton''", constructed from the circumfix ''ke- -an'' and ''Ratu'', to describe the residence of the ratu. Ratu: A chiefly title for men used alone as a form of address, or in front of the chief's name, only in certain places The source of the Fijian title is Verata, and it has spread throughout Fiji during the past century, now applied to many local, minor chiefs as well as the major ones. The concept of his type of title is from Tonga. Strictly speaking, the title belongs only in Ver ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Suva
Suva (, ) is the Capital city, capital and the most populous 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 Division, Fiji, Central Division. In 1877, the capital of Fiji was moved to Suva from Levuka, the main European colonial settlement at the time, due to the restrictive geography and environs of the latter. The administration of the colony was transferred from Levuka to Suva in 1882. As of the 2017 census, the city of Suva had a Demographics of Fiji, population of 93,970, and Suva's metropolitan area, which includes its independent suburbs, had a population of 185,913. The combined urban population of Suva and the towns of Lami, Fiji, Lami, Nasinu, and Nausori that border it was around 330,000: over a third of the nation's population (This urban complex, excluding Lami, is also known as the Suva-Nausori corridor). Suva ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Indo-Fijian
Indo-Fijians () are Fijians of South Asian descent whose ancestors were Girmitiyas, indentured labourers. Indo-Fijians trace their ancestry to various regions of the Indian subcontinent. Although Indo-Fijians constituted a majority of Fiji's population from 1956 through to the late 1980s, discrimination triggered immigration, resulted in them numbering 313,798 (37.6%) (2007 census) out of a total of 827,900 people living in Fiji . Although they hailed from various regions in the subcontinent, just about half of Indo-Fijians trace their origins to the Awadh and Bhojpuri region, Bhojpur regions of the Hindi Belt in northern India. Indo-Fijians speak Fiji Hindi in Fiji also known as 'Fiji Baat' which is based on the Awadhi language, Awadhi dialect with influence from Bhojpuri language, Bhojpuri. It is a koiné language with its own grammatical features, distinct to the Modern Standard Hindi and Urdu, Modern Standard Urdu spoken in South Asia. The major home districts of Fiji's Nor ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fiji
Fiji, 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 of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about 110 are permanently inhabited—and more than 500 islets, amounting to a total land area of about . The most outlying island group is Ono-i-Lau. About 87% of the total population live on the two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. About three-quarters of Fijians live on Viti Levu's coasts, either in the capital city of Suva, or in smaller urban centres such as Nadi (where tourism is the major local industry) or Lautoka (where the Sugarcane, sugar-cane industry is dominant). The interior of Viti Levu is sparsely inhabited because of its terrain. The majority of Fiji's islands were formed by Volcano, volcanic activity starting around 150 million years ago. Some geothermal activity still occurs today on the islands of Vanua Levu and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rugby Union Positions
In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16–23. Players are not restricted to a single position, although they generally specialise in just one or two that suit their skills and body types. Players that play multiple positions are called "utility players". The scrum (a contest used to restart play) must consist of eight players from each team: the "front row" (two props – a loosehead and tighthead – and a hooker), the "second row" (two locks), and a "back row" (two flankers and a number 8). The players outside the scrum are called "the backs": scrum-half, fly-half, inside centre, outside centre, two wings, and a fullback. Forwards compete for the ball in scrums and line-outs and are generally bigger and stronger than the backs. Props push in the scrums, while the hooker trie ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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 has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the Super 12 in the 1996 Super 12 season, 1996 season with 12 teams from Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, building on competitions dating back to the South Pacific Championship in 1986. The Super 12 was established by SANZAAR, SANZAR after the sport became professional in 1995. After the COVID-19 pandemic forced the competition to split into three, the reformed competition in 2021 only included teams from Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific islands. The name was changed to Super 14 with the addition of two teams for the 2006 Super 14 season, 2006 season, and with expansion to 15 teams for the 2011 Super Rugby season, 2011 season, the competition was rebranded as Super Rugby (with no number). In 2016 two new teams, the Jaguares (Sup ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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 National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism of LNR. There is promotion and relegation between the Top 14 and the next level down, the Pro D2. The fourteen best rugby teams in France participate in the competition, hence the name Top 14. The competition was previously known as the Top 16. The league is one of the three major professional leagues in Europe (along with the English Premiership Rugby, Premiership and the United Rugby Championship, which brings together top clubs from Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Italy and South Africa), from which the most successful teams go forward to compete in the European Rugby Champions Cup, the championship which replaced the Heineken Cup after the 2013–14 Pro12, 2013–14 season. The first ever final took place in 1 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pro D2
The Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was introduced in 2000. It is the world's best supported second tier rugby union league. Season structure There are 30 rounds in the regular season, with each team playing each other home and away. There is relegation and promotion between both the Top 14 and Nationale, the third-level competition. The top two clubs at the end of the season qualify automatically for home semi-finals, with the clubs placed 3rd through to 6th playing in an elimination round to advance to the semi-finals. The two winners of the semi-final play each other in the final, with the winner gaining promotion to the Top 14, and the losing finalist then going on to play the 13th placed team in the Top 14 in a promotion-relegation match. The bottom placed (16th) team is automatically relegate ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rugby Union In France
Rugby union in France is a popular team sport. Rugby union was first introduced in the early 1870s by British residents, which makes the country one of the few early exponents of the sport. Elite French clubs participate in the professional domestic club league, the Top 14. Clubs also compete in the European knock-out competition, the European Rugby Champions Cup, which replaced the Heineken Cup from 2014 to 2015. The national side competes annually in the Six Nations Championship, last winning the competition in 2025. France has participated in every Rugby World Cup since its inception in 1987, and has been a runner-up on three occasions. France also hosted the 2007 Rugby World Cup and hosted it again in 2023. Governing body Fédération Française de Rugby (FFR) is the rugby union governing body in France; they are responsible for the governing of rugby union in France, including the France national team and the organisers of the country's professional competitions, Lig ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Premiership Rugby
Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition, consisting of 10 clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby union system. Premiership clubs qualify for Europe's two main club competitions, the European Rugby Champions Cup and the European Rugby Challenge Cup. The winner of the second division, the RFU Championship, is promoted to the Premiership and until 2020, the team finishing at the bottom of the Premiership each season was relegated to the Championship. The competition is regarded as one of the three top-level professional leagues in the Northern and Western Hemispheres, along with the Top 14 in France, and the cross-border United Rugby Championship for teams from Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Italy and South Africa. The competition has been played since 1987, and has evolved into the current Premiership system. The current champions are ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |