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 r ...

Apenisa Naevo (born 24 February 1973) is a

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 ...

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

footballer. His usual position is at lock. He has earned over 30 caps for the national team, after debuting in 1996 and going on to represent them at the

Rugby World Cup The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport. The tournament is administer ...

. Naveo made his debut for Fiji on September 29, 1996, in a match against

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. Not only did his career get off to a winning start, with Fiji taking the match 64–11, he scored a try on debut. He played two other games that year, another against Hong Kong, and the other against the NZ Maori. After being capped three times the following season he went on to appear five times for Fiji in 1998. In 1999 he played three games during June–July, and then four Tests during August and was then included in the Fiji squad for the

1999 Rugby World Cup The 1999 Rugby World Cup () was the fourth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial international rugby union championship. It was the first Rugby World Cup to be held in the sport's History of rugby union#The professional era, professional era. Four a ...

in Wales. He played two matches during the tournament; the games against

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

during the pool stages. He next played for Fiji in May 2001, and went on to play another five times that season. He went on tour in November of the 2002 season, playing in the games against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. After playing two games in July 2003 he was included in the Fiji squad for the

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England national rugby union team, England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispu ...

in Australia, playing three games, against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, scoring tries in both, and the games against

. Apenisa Naevo is the son of Joeli Lesavua, the younger brother of Ratu

Apisai Naevo Ratu Apisai D. Naevo (died 2008) was a Fijian Chief and political leader. As Tui Nawaka, he was the paramount chief of the vanua of Nawaka, Nadi. He had two sons, Apenisa Naevo and Semisi Naevo, both of whom played rugby for Fiji. A retired scho ...

, the Paramount Chief of Nawaka, in

Nadi Nadi (, ) is the second-largest city in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 59,707 at the most recent census, in 2017. Nadi is multiracial with many of its inhabitants Asians, India ...

. His brother,

Semisi Naevo Ratu Meli Semisi Naevo Saukawa (born 3 May 1975 in Nawaka, Nadi) is a Fijian rugby union player. He plays as a flanker. His nickname is Man Mountain. His father, Joeli Lesavua, and two brothers, Apenisa and Manoa Naevo, are also Fiji reps. Car ...

, is also a rugby player.

Fiji Team

*Test debut: 1996 vs Hong Kong in Aberdeen *35 caps 6 tries 30 points (49 games, 11 tries, 55 points)

External links

Api Naevo
on rwc2003.irb.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Naevo, Api 1973 births Fijian rugby union players Living people Rugby union locks Fiji international rugby union players Chiefs (Super Rugby) players Blues (Super Rugby) players Fijian expatriate rugby union players in New Zealand I-Taukei Fijian people Rugby union players from Nadi Rugby Club Vannes players 1999 Rugby World Cup players 2003 Rugby World Cup players Fijian expatriate rugby union players in France Counties Manukau rugby union players 21st-century Fijian sportsmen