Semisi Naevo

Last updated
Semisi Naevo
Semisi Naevo 2007 (cropped).jpg
Naevo at the 2007 Rugby World Cup
Birth nameRatu Meli Semisi Saukawa Naevo
Date of birth (1975-05-03) 3 May 1975 (age 49)
Place of birth Nadi, Fiji
Height1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)
Weight115 kg (18 st 2 lb; 254 lb)
SchoolNawaka District School, Ratu Navula Secondary School, Nadi College.
Notable relative(s)
  • Mother: Merewalesi
  • Father: Ratu Joeli Lesavua Naevo
  • Apenisa Naevo
  • Manoa Naevo
Occupation(s)Business Man
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker
Senior career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1998–2003
2003
2003–2007		 Counties
Nawaka
Green Rockets 		()
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2006–2010
2008		 Fiji
Pacific Islanders 		14
2		 (0)
(0)
National sevens team
YearsTeamComps
2001 – Fiji 19
Medal record
Men's rugby sevens
Representing Flag of Fiji.svg  Fiji
Commonwealth Games Silver Medal 2002
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2006 Melbourne Team competition

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. [1] His father, Joeli Lesavua, and two brothers, Apenisa and Manoa Naevo, are also Fiji reps.

Contents

Career

He plays sevens for Fiji. He is a strong tackler with good line-out skills, he also has the speed for sevens. His ball-hunting skills earned him his first cap in the 2006 Pacific 5 Nations tournament where he stalked the Samoans from the side of the scrum to help Fiji win 23–20. He has made an excellent name for himself in the Fiji sevens team with outstanding performances in his first outing in Argentina and Wellington, 2002. He is a member of the 2005 Rugby World Cup Sevens team, his speed and aerial skills made him a menace. He was bestowed with the captaincy role for the last two tournaments of the 2005–06 IRB 7s Series, and it was fitting that he lifted the London Sevens trophy and also the IRB sevens trophy.

In 2008 he was selected for the Pacific islanders. [2]

In 2009 he was named co-captain for the team for the 2009 Dubai sevens. [3]

Commonwealth Games

He was also part of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester where Fiji won the silver medal when they were defeated by New Zealand in the final after Fiji were reduced to 5 men for most of the game.

Semisi was also part of the 2006 Commonwealth Games where they won a bronze medal.

2007 RWC

Naevo was also part of the Fiji 15's team that reached the Quarter-finals of the Rugby Union World Cup in 2007.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Rugby</span> International governing body of rugby union and its variants

World Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international competitions, such as the World Rugby Sevens Series, the Rugby World Cup Sevens, the World Under 20 Championship, and the Pacific Nations Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rugby sevens</span> 7-a-side team sport, sub-code of rugby union

Rugby sevens is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players playing seven-minute halves, instead of the usual 15 players playing 40-minute halves. Rugby sevens is administered by World Rugby, the body responsible for rugby union worldwide. The game is popular at all levels, with amateur and club tournaments generally held in the summer months. Sevens is one of the most well distributed forms of rugby, and is popular in parts of Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, and especially in the South Pacific.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waisale Serevi</span> Fijian rugby union footballer and coach (born 1968)

Waisale Tikoisolomoni Serevi is a Fijian former rugby union football player and coach, and is a member of the World Rugby Hall of Fame. Serevi is renowned for his achievements in rugby sevens, while also enjoying a long career in fifteen-a-side rugby at both club and national team levels. Nicknamed "The Wizard" by commentators, he is widely considered to be the greatest rugby sevens player in the history of the game. A biography of Serevi titled Waisale Serevi: King of Sevens by Nick Darvenzi was published in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiji national rugby sevens team</span> Rugby team

The Fiji national rugby sevens team has competed in the World Rugby Sevens Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Olympics. Fiji won the gold medal in the inaugural rugby sevens at the Summer Olympics in 2016 in Brazil, the country's first Olympic medal in any event, and repeated as Olympic champions in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, defeating New Zealand. Fiji would fall short from winning gold for a third straight time in 2024 after a defeat in the final to hosts France. Overall, Fiji are the only national rugby sevens team in the world to have won the Sevens Treble, the three major achievements in Sevens. They have won multiple World Rugby Sevens Series and Rugby World Cup Sevens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup</span> Rugby union competition

The Pacific Nations Cup is an international rugby union competition held between Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Canada, Japan and the United States. First held in 2006, the tournament is intended to strengthen the Tier 2 rugby teams by providing competitive test matches in a tournament format.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rugby union in Fiji</span>

Rugby union in Fiji is a popular team sport and is considered to be the national sport of the country. The sport was introduced to Fiji in the 1880s. Fiji is defined as a tier two rugby nation by World Rugby. The national team has competed at the Rugby World Cup and made it as far as the quarter-finals. Their sevens team is also noted for their success, winning multiple Olympic gold medals, World Rugby Sevens Series and Rugby World Cup Sevens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Ryder (rugby union)</span> Fijian rugby union footballer (born 1982)

William Ryder is a Fijian rugby union footballer. Ryder is well known within the rugby sevens community, as he has produced some of the best performances for the Fiji national sevens side. He is well known for his try scoring capability and goosestepping defenders. He was also one of the top try scorers of the World Sevens Series which has been overtaken recently. He has scored over 752 points to-date of which he has scored 105 tries. He was a part of the team that won the sevens world cup in 2005 and also won a bronze medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia for the rugby sevens event.

Ratu Apenisa Naevo is a Fijian rugby union 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samoa national rugby sevens team</span> Rugby team

The Samoa national rugby sevens team, referred to as Samoa Sevens or Manu Samoa 7s, competes in the annual World Rugby Sevens Series. Representing the polynesian country of Samoa, with a population of about 202,000, the team competes against some of the wealthiest countries in the world. The Samoa sevens team is overseen by the Samoa Rugby Football Union, which oversees all of rugby union in Samoa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mosese Volavola</span> Fijian rugby union player (born 1979)

Mosese Volavola is a Fijian rugby union footballer. He plays as a Flanker or as a Lock. His nickname is Mo or Moji.

Rugby union is the most popular sport in Fiji ; however, rugby league, netball, and association football are also widely played. Various forms of traditional boat racing and wrestling are also popular.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mick Byrne (Australian footballer and rugby union coach)</span> Australian rules footballer

Michael Byrne, nicknamed Mick the Kick, is a former Australian rules footballer and now rugby union coach, whom specialises in kicking and team skills. Byrne played with Melbourne, Hawthorn and Sydney in the Victorian Football League (VFL) from 1977 to 1989. He also coached his junior side in 1994–95. After a career in AFL spanning almost thirty years, Byrne now coaches fully in rugby union, is currently the head coach of the Fijian national side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lote Raikabula</span> Rugby player

Lote Raikabula is a New Zealand rugby player who has played both rugby union and rugby sevens. He currently plays for the All Blacks Sevens team in the IRB Sevens World Series & is the Rugby coach for Trinity College, Kandy. He has played more than 60 tournaments since his debut in 2006, playing in 20 tournament-winning teams. he has five IRB Sevens World Series medals, a Rugby World Cup Sevens title and two Commonwealth Games gold medals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cecil Afrika</span> South African rugby union player

Cecil Sebastian Afrika is a South African rugby sevens player for the South Africa national team, where he plays at flyhalf. He also plays for the San Diego Legion of Major League Rugby (MLR).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australia women's national rugby sevens team</span> Rugby team

The Australia women's national rugby sevens team, are the Australia national rugby sevens team of women. They were champions of the inaugural Women's Sevens World Cup in 2009. The team plays in the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series as one of the "core teams" on the world tour, of which they have been crowned Champions three times. The team also played in the preceding competition to the current world series, the IRB Women's Sevens Challenge Cup. In 2016, they won the inaugural gold medal at the Rio Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vanuatu Rugby Football Union</span>

The Vanuatu Rugby Football Union, or VRFU, is the governing body for rugby union in Vanuatu. It was established in the 1960s, but only became fully affiliated to the International Rugby Board (IRB) in 1999.

Branco Bewinn Nazeem du Preez is a former South African rugby union player, playing with the South Africa national rugby sevens team. He is a utility back, but usually plays as a scrum-half for the Blitzbokke. Du Preez retired as the most capped South African Rugby Sevens player.

Apisai Nagata, sometimes misspelled as Apisai Nasata is a Fijian former rugby union footballer, he played as flanker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waisea Nacuqu</span> Fiji rugby sevens player (born 1993)

Waisea Nacuqu is a Fiji national rugby sevens team player. Nacuqu is known as "game breaker" and has on many occasions scored match winning tries. He is well known for his speed and scoring tries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meli Derenalagi</span> Fijian rugby union player (born 1998)

Ratu Meli Derenalagi is a forward in the Fiji national rugby sevens team. Derenalagi is well known for his offloading ability. His uncles Semisi Naevo, Apenisa Naevo and father Ratu Vuniani Derenalagi have also played for Fiji in rugby sevens. Currently plays for the Fijian Drua in the Super Rugby Pacific and has also being named for the Flying Fijians team for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

References

  1. ↑ "Naevo cautions players to maintain discipline". Fiji Times. 27 November 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  2. ↑ "We can win: Naevo". Fiji Sun. 6 November 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  3. ↑ "Naevo, Goneva named to lead". Fiji Sun. 26 February 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2023.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.