Ifereimi Rawaqa (born September 20, 1980 in Vuda,

Lautoka Lautoka (, ) is the second largest List of cities and towns in Fiji#List, metropolitan area in Fiji. It is on the west coast of the island of Viti Levu, in the Ba Province of the Western Division, Fiji, Western Division. Lying in the heart of ...

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 ...

) is a Fijian

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 ...

player. He plays as a

lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...

flanker Flanker may refer to: * Flanker (perfume), a newly created perfume sharing attributes of an existing one * Flanker (rugby union), a position in rugby union (not found in rugby league) * ''Su-27 Flanker'' (video game), a 1996 computer game modelin ...

Career

In 2002, when he was still 21 when he made his test debut in the victory over

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

, in

Apia Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō'') of Tuamasaga. The Apia Urban A ...

. After four matches as a substitute, he made his first start 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 the 47-20 win at

Prince Charles Park King Charles Park, historically also known as Prince Charles Park, is a stadium in Nadi, Fiji. The stadium has a nominal capacity of 18,000 people. It currently hosts rugby union matches, football (soccer) matches, and special events. The ven ...

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 ...

, and celebrated with a well-worked try from 35 metres out when he raced onto a chip over the top from Seru Rabeni. His build makes him an ideal line-out jumper, but he is also equipped with speed to match most wingers. Injury saw him miss the 2003 early-season trials and he did not feature in the warm-up matches against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

or Tonga. When Apenisa Naevo pulled up late in the first match of the New Zealand tour last August, Rawaqa was called up. He also led his provincial team Lautoka to both major trophies in Fiji in 2003 – the Telecom Cup and the Farebrother-Sullivan Trophy, which is a challenge competition similar to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Ranfurly Shield The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Shield is based on a challenge system. The holding union must defend the shield in challenge ...

. In 2004 Rawaqa was selected in the

Pacific Islanders Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subreg ...

team where he started all 3 test matches. After an impressive showing for the Islanders he was offered a contract to play for

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

but turned it down preferring to play for Japanese club

World Fighting Bull World Fighting Bull were a Japanese rugby union team that played in the county's Top League competition. The team was the rugby team of clothing company World Co., based in Kobe in the Kansai The or the lies in the southern-central region of ...

. Rawaqa showed his pace when he outran the

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 ...

backline to score under the posts in what was so nearly an historic win for Fiji at

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

in 2005, when Fiji lost 11-10.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKnR1n2DDTY He has played at two world cups, 2003 and 2007 being part of the historical quarter-final reaching team. He was also part of Fiji's

2005 Rugby World Cup Sevens The 2005 Rugby World Cup Sevens or the Melrose Cup was the fourth edition of the Rugby World Cup Sevens. The tournament was held in Hong Kong at Hong Kong Stadium. Fiji defeated New Zealand in the final to take the Melrose Cup for the second time, ...

winning team. He is the elder brother of Fijian International

Taniela Rawaqa Taniela Rawaqa (born April 30, 1986) is a Fijian rugby union player. He plays fullback, presently with the Western Crusaders in the Colonial Cup and with the Fiji Warriors in the Pacific Rugby Cup and internationally with Fiji. He is the young ...

who plays fullback for Fiji.

References

External links

Fiji profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rawaqa, Ifereimi 1980 births Living people Rugby union players from Lautoka Fijian rugby union players Rugby union locks Rugby union flankers Fiji international rugby union players Fijian expatriate rugby union players in Japan Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi players Fiji international rugby sevens players Male rugby sevens players I-Taukei Fijian people 2003 Rugby World Cup players 2007 Rugby World Cup players 21st-century Fijian sportsmen