Sefa Naivalu

Sefa Naivalu
Full name Sefanaia Naivalu
Date of birth (1992-01-07) 7 January 1992
Place of birth Levuka, Fiji
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight 94 kg (14 st 11 lb; 207 lb)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Centre / Wing
Current team Rebels
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
−2013 Ovalau Rugby Club ()
2014 Box Hill Broncos ()
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014− Melbourne Rising 9 (30)
2015– Rebels 46 (80)
Correct as of 14 July 2018
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016− Australia 7 (20)
Correct as of 6 November 2017

Sefanaia "Sefa" Naivalu (born 7 January 1992) is an Australian rugby union player who currently plays as a centre or wing for the Melbourne Rebels 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

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.

Super Rugby Statistics

As of 15 July 2018[5]
SeasonTeamGamesStartsSubMinsTriesConsPensDropsPointsYelRed
2015 Rebels138556140002010
2016 Rebels109170760003000
2017 Rebels9907021000500
2018 Rebels148664150002500
Total4634122611160008010

References

  1. 1 2 "Sefanaia Naivalu Melbourne Rebels Player Profile". Rebels Rugby. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 "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 2017-04-26. Pacific Island All Time Rankings
  5. 1 2 "Sefanaia Naivalu itsrugby Player Statistics". itsrugby. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
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