Epeli Ruivadra (born 1 June 1977 in

Nausori Nausori () is a Local government in Fiji, town in Fiji. It had a population of 57,866 at the 2017 census. This makes it the List of cities and towns in Fiji, fourth most populous municipality in the country. Situated 19 kilometers from the Fiji ...

) 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. He plays as a

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

. He is 1.85m tall and weighs 90 kg. He started playing rugby at

Lelean Memorial School Lelean Memorial School is the largest school in Fiji. It was established in 1943 and is run by the Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma. It is co-located at the Davuilevu Methodist Compound with thDavuilevu Theological Collegeand the Young People ...

and represented the school's Under 19s team in the Deans Trophy in 1997. He even tried to play at

prop A prop, formally known as a (theatrical) property, is an object actors use on stage or screen during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

for his club Dravo before moving to the backs. He trialled in 2001 for the

Pacific Tri-Nations The Pacific Tri-Nations was the traditional rugby union series between Tonga, Fiji and Samoa. It was established in 1982 with the Samoan team, then known as Western Samoa, winning the tournament. In 2006 it was replaced by the IRB Pacific 5 Nation ...

and he managed to break into the

squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of Military organization, military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and United States, U.S. doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a fireteam, ...

for the tour to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

later that year, then made the Fiji sevens squad for

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

and

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 ...

in 2002 where he was Fiji's top try-scorer at both tournaments. Ruivadra made his Test debut under Mac McCallion in the first game against

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

in June 2002, and scored a try. He earned a spot in the Rugby World Cup 2003 and played an instrumental role in Fiji's final pool game against Scotland but they were unlucky to lose.

External links

Profile of Epeli Ruivadra
1977 births Living people People from Nausori Rugby union players from Tailevu Province Fijian rugby union players Rugby union centres Fiji international rugby union players Male rugby sevens players Fiji international rugby sevens players I-Taukei Fijian people People educated at Lelean Memorial School Commonwealth Games silver medallists in rugby sevens Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Fiji Commonwealth Games rugby sevens players for Fiji Rugby sevens players at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games 2003 Rugby World Cup players 21st-century Fijian sportsmen {{Fiji-rugbyunion-bio-stub