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Sefa Naivalu

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Sefa Naivalu
Full nameSefanaia Naivalu
Date of birth (1992-01-07) 7 January 1992 (age 32)
Place of birthLevuka, Fiji
Height1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight101 kg (15 st 13 lb; 223 lb)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Centre / Wing
Current team Reds
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
−2013 Ovalau Rugby Club ()
2014 Box Hill Broncos ()
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014−2018 Melbourne Rising 9 (30)
2015–2018 Rebels 46 (80)
2019 Reds 13 (15)
2019- Stade Francais 45 (65)
Correct as of 14 July 2018
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016− Australia 9 (25)
Correct as of 16 November 2018

Sefanaia Naivalu (born 7 January 1992), known simply as Sefa, is an Australian rugby union professional player who currently plays as a centre or wing for the Queensland Reds in the international Super Rugby competition.[1][2] He also represented Melbourne Rising in the inaugural National Rugby Championship.[3] He has a 100 metre recorded time of 10.5seconds in 2011.[4]

Career

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Naivalu playing for the Wallabies against Italy, 24 June 2017

Naivalu started out his rugby career with the Ovalau Rugby Club in his native Fiji before moving to Australia at the beginning of 2014 with the Rugby Plus Program. He joined the Box Hill Broncos who play in the local Dewar Shield in Victoria and made an immediate impact by becoming the leading try and point scorer in the competition which in turn saw his side reach the tournament's Grand Final.[1][2]

These performance brought him to the attention of the newly formed Melbourne Rising who competed in the first ever National Rugby Championship in 2014. 5 tries in 5 appearances at the beginning of the season[5] were enough to convince local Super Rugby franchise the Melbourne Rebels of his worth and he made history by becoming the first Rebel ever to be signed directly from a Dewar Shield side.[2]

For the 2016 Rugby Championship, wallabies coach Michael Cheika called Sefa Naivalu for the 33 men squad in preparation for the test against South Africa and Argentina, although the player will not be eligible until September the 18th, one day after the match between the Wallabies and the Pumas.

On 22 March 2019, Naivalu would travel to France to sign for Top 14 side Stade Francais from the 2019-20 season after the 2019 Rugby World Cup.[6]

Super Rugby statistics

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As of 15 July 2018[5]
Season Team Games Starts Sub Mins Tries Cons Pens Drops Points Yel Red
2015 Rebels 13 8 5 561 4 0 0 0 20 1 0
2016 Rebels 10 9 1 707 6 0 0 0 30 0 0
2017 Rebels 9 9 0 702 1 0 0 0 5 0 0
2018 Rebels 14 8 6 641 5 0 0 0 25 0 0
Total 46 34 12 2611 16 0 0 0 80 1 0

References

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  1. ^ a b "Sefanaia Naivalu Melbourne Rebels Player Profile". Rebels Rugby. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  2. ^ a b c "Rebels make history signing Box Hill speedster Sefanaia Naivalu". Rebels Rugby. 9 September 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  3. ^ "Sefanaia Naivalu Melbourne Rising Player Profile". Melbourne Rising Rugby. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  4. ^ "Records & Rankings". WordPress.com. Retrieved 26 April 2017. Pacific Island All Time Rankings
  5. ^ a b "Sefanaia Naivalu itsrugby Player Statistics". itsrugby. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  6. ^ "Australia international Sefa Naivalu to head to Stade Francais after World Cup". Talking Rugby Union. 22 March 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
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