Seru Rabeni
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Ratu Seru Rabeni (27 December 1978 – 15 March 2016) was 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 ...
an
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 played 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 ...
or
wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...
. At both club and international level, his physicality and heavy tackles earned him the nickname "Rambo".


Career


Early career

Rabeni was born and raised in Bua, Fiji, and played rugby union since his early schooldays at Ratu Kadavulevu School. He first played provincial rugby for Lautoka in 1998–99 while studying at Lautoka Teachers College, before moving on to the capital's club Suva in 2000. Rabeni made his Sevens debut in Dubai in 1998, playing in two
Hong Kong Sevens The Hong Kong Sevens ( zh, t=香港國際七人欖球賽, link=no) is a rugby sevens tournament held annually in Hong Kong on a weekend in late March or early April. Considered the premier tournament on the World Rugby Sevens Series competiti ...
tournaments. He played at both U21 and U23 level for Fiji before making his test debut in May 2000 against
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
in Tokyo during the Epson Cup tournament. An ankle injury saw him miss the remainder of the tournament. In 2001, Rabeni took up a three-year degree course at the
University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...
,
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 ...
, and the following year played 7 games for
Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...
in the
National Provincial Championship The National Provincial Championship may refer to: * National Provincial Championship (1976–2005), original competition before reform into 14 sides * National Provincial Championship (2006–present) The National Provincial Championship (NP ...
before gaining a
Super 12 Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...
contract with Highlanders for whom he played a dozen games over the 2003 and 2004 season.


Europe

Rabeni signed for English club
Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its home ...
shortly after being named in the Pacific Islanders squad. Rabeni scored 12 tries in 39 appearances, but suffered from knee injuries throughout his time at Welford Road, leading to him missing a season. He was also banned for 14 weeks for gouging Saracens player Andy Kyriacou in April 2008. In his time at Leicester he helped them win the Premiership in 2007, starting in the final. In 2009 he was signed up by fellow Guinness Premiership team Gloucester on a 3-year deal. However, in August the deal fell through when he failed a medical. After this move fell through, he signed for newcomers
Leeds Carnegie Leeds Carnegie was a brand name used by several sports teams associated with the Carnegie School of Physical Education, now part of Leeds Beckett University Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LM ...
. In 2010 he signed for French newcomers in
Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also ...
Stade Rochelais Stade Rochelais (), commonly called La Rochelle, is a French professional rugby union club based in La Rochelle, France that competes in the Top 14. Founded in 1898 and wearing yellow and black, the club's first-team plays its home matches at ...
. Rabeni's final professional rugby signing wa
Stade Montois
for the 2012–13 season when they were promoted to the Top 14.


International

Rabeni toured New Zealand with
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 ...
in 2002, and the same year played
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 ...
at the
Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...
in
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 ...
. He appeared for Fiji Sevens in the
2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, ...
in Manchester. In 2003 he toured with the national side to South America, scoring a try in the 41–16 victory over
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
in Santiago. In 2004, he played in all three games for the newly formed
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 ...
, scoring a try against in Albany and 2 conversions against
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
in Gosford. Rabeni played for the Pacific Islanders numerous times and was one of a few players to go on every tour, in 2004, 2006 and 2008. He scored 3 tries and 2 conversions. Rabeni started all four 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 ...
's pool games in 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 ...
, playing at centre in the 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 USA 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 ...
in Brisbane,
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
in Townsville 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 ...
in Sydney. Rabeni represented
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 ...
in the 2007 World Cup in France playing in all 4 Pool B games and the quarterfinals. He demonstrated his tackling ability against Australia, injuring two of their players. He was also instrumental in the Pool B decider helping Fiji beat Wales 38–34 and reach the quarterfinals for the 2nd time since 1987. He ended the cup with only one try, against Japan in their opening game.


Coaching career

During the summer 2013, Rabeni moved to the United States to become an Assistant Coach for the
college rugby College rugby is played by men and women throughout colleges and universities in the United States. Seven-a-side and fifteen-a-side variants of rugby union are most commonly played. Most collegiate rugby programs do not fall under the auspices of ...
team of
Lindenwood University Lindenwood University is a private university in St. Charles, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1832 by George Champlin Sibley and Mary Easton Sibley as The Lindenwood School for Girls, it is the second-oldest higher-education institution wes ...
in
Saint Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
. In September 2014, Rabeni then moved to Hong Kong to be with his life partner, Susan Macdonald, and daughter, Ayami Rabeni, where he was focusing on completing his Masters in Sports Marketing & Business Management (distance learning with UCLan, UK) that led to the Head Coach position of the Discovery Bay Pirates focusing on youth (U13s to U19s) and was set as a player coach for the Pirates Championship team. He was to work alongside Craig Hammond of Hong Kong Scottish where he would have likewise played for this premiership team.


Hong Kong National League

In 2014–2015 season, Rabeni was Head Coach/Player for Hong Kong's largest rugby club ''DB Pirates'' 1st and 2nd XV. His last professional appearance in March 2015 was with the Hong Kong Scottish Exiles in the HK Rugby 10s reaching the Cup Semi Finals. For the 2015–16 season, DB Pirates set-up a Chief Rugby Officer position for Rabeni sponsored by HKRFU with comments in the HK rugby community that he was on track to become HK's next National Coach. Rabeni visited Fiji in June 2015 to try and qualify for the World Cup one last time. Unfortunately, he was delayed in returning to Hong Kong to take up the HKRFU position due to ongoing financial issues with his own transport business in Fiji. His tragic and unexpected passing coincided with the week he planned to return to Hong Kong where he had lined up corporate speaking events for the 2016 HK Rugby 7s.


Death

In the morning of 15 March 2016, Rabeni suddenly died while having breakfast at his home 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 ...
, Fiji. The cause of death was
heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...
(suspected viral cardiomyopathy). Rabeni developed
flu Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...
symptoms and
shortness of breath Shortness of breath (SOB), known as dyspnea (in AmE) or dyspnoea (in BrE), is an uncomfortable feeling of not being able to breathe well enough. The American Thoracic Society defines it as "a subjective experience of breathing discomfort that con ...
from December 2015, but brushed off his symptoms as just flu.


See also

*
List of rugby union players banned for eye gouging Eye-gouging is a serious offence in rugby union where a player uses hands or fingers to inflict pain in an opponent's eyes. The game's laws refer to it as "contact with eyes or the eye area of an opponent" but such incidents are usually referred to ...


References


External links

*
Tigers profile
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rabeni, Seru 1978 births 2016 deaths Rugby union players from Bua Province Fijian rugby union coaches Fijian rugby union players Rugby union centres Rugby union wings Otago rugby union players Highlanders (rugby union) players Leicester Tigers players Leeds Tykes players Fiji international rugby union players Pacific Islanders rugby union players Stade Rochelais players Fijian expatriate rugby union players in France Fijian expatriate rugby union players in England Fijian expatriate rugby union players in New Zealand Fiji international rugby sevens players Male rugby sevens players University of Otago alumni I-Taukei Fijian people People educated at Ratu Kadavulevu 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 2007 Rugby World Cup players 21st-century Fijian sportsmen Deaths from cardiomyopathy