Hon. Samuela Bainikalou Vunivalu (born c. 1957 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 ...

) is a Fijian former

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 and current politician. He played as flanker.

Career

Vunivalu debuted in the 1987 Rugby World Cup, against Argentina, at Hamilton, on 24 May. He debuted as substitute, replacing Peceli Gale. His last match for Fiji was against France, at

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 ...

, on 7 June. He played three matches in the World Cup, two as a substitute and one as starting member, which was against New Zealand at

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

Coaching career

In 2010, Vunivalu coached the NRU-affiliated Mosi Rugby

Political career

During the 2014 general election, Vunivalu was elected a Member of the

Parliament of Fiji The Parliament of the Republic of Fiji is the unicameral legislature of the Fiji, Republic of Fiji. It consists of 55 members elected every 4 years using open list proportional representation in one multi-member nationwide constituency. Hist ...

for FijiFirst. He was not selected by FijiFirst as a candidate for the 2018 election.

References

External links

* Fiji international rugby union players Fijian rugby union players Rugby union flankers I-Taukei Fijian members of the Parliament of Fiji FijiFirst politicians Rugby union players from Nadi 1957 births Living people I-Taukei Fijian people Fijian sportsperson-politicians 1987 Rugby World Cup players {{Fiji-rugbyunion-bio-stub