Amasio Valence (born 12 May 1979) is a former rugby sevens player. He was born in

Nadi, Fiji Nadi (pronounced ) is the third-largest conurbation in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 42,284 at the most recent census, in 2007. A 2012 estimate showed that the population ha ...

, but after he first made his break into professional rugby in 2000, he switched allegiances to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

. He was hailed as one of the most promising players in the discipline in recent years. Valence is the only New Zealander to have won three gold medals in rugby sevens at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 British Empire Game ...

; in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains independence from Indonesia and ...

and 2006, a testament to his longevity in the game. He last played for New Zealand in 2008. While Valence played rugby, his entire family enjoyed soccer, with his older brother, Nikola Raoma being picked for the national side of Fiji in 2002.

References

Interview on Urbanwire
*

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Valence, Amasio Raoma 1979 births Living people Fijian rugby union players Rugby union fly-halves Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand Rugby sevens players at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Rugby sevens players at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Rugby sevens players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games rugby sevens players of New Zealand New Zealand international rugby sevens players Fijian emigrants to New Zealand I-Taukei Fijian people Fijian expatriates in New Zealand Sportspeople from Nadi Commonwealth Games medallists in rugby sevens New Zealand male rugby sevens players