Sitiveni Sivivatu

Sitiveni Sivivatu

Birth name	Sitiveni Waica Sivivatu
Date of birth	(1982-04-19) 19 April 1982
Place of birth	Suva, Fiji
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	97 kg (15 st 4 lb)
School	Wesley College
Rugby union career
Position(s) Wing, fullback All Black No. 1052 Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) Correct as of 26 June 2014 Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2011–14 2014–16 Clermont Castres 69 29 (110)22t (35)7t Correct as of 27 July 2015 Provincial / State sides Years Team Apps (Points) 2001–2003 2004–2011 Manukau Waikato 20 24 (125)25t (80)16t Correct as of 2007-04-06 Super Rugby Years Team Apps (Points) 2003–11 Chiefs 89 (210)42t Correct as of 2013-04-26 National team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 2005–11 2004 New Zealand Pacific Islanders 45 3 (145)29t (20)4t Correct as of 2011-08-26

Sitiveni Waica Sivivatu (born 19 April 1982 in Suva, Fiji) is a retired New Zealand rugby union footballer, playing on the position of a wing. He was largely successful in the 2005 Super 12 season playing for the Chiefs, and acquired a starting position in the All Blacks. He has scored 29 tries in 45 tests. He also scored 4 tries for the Pacific Islanders in 2004, 2 of which he scored against his current team, the All Blacks and 2 against South Africa. Since the Pacific Islanders team has been sanctioned by the IRB, his 4 tries for them stands.

Early life

Sivivatu attended Ratu Kadavulevu School in Fiji before moving to New Zealand when he was 15. He attended Wesley College, the school that produced All Blacks great Jonah Lomu. He first played in the NPC with second division side Counties Manukau, eventually moving to the first division with Waikato. He was the only 2nd division player in NZ to win a Super Rugby contract. He regards as his hero Philippe Sella because "he could just do anything on the field of play. If he decided to drop he could do it from anywhere within his range, and he was an amazing player with ball in hand."^[1]

Pacific Islanders

Sivivatu played for the inaugural Pacific Islanders rugby union team against the Australian Wallabies in 2004. Among his teammates were Sione Lauaki who also became an All Black. Sivivatu and fellow All Black wing Joe Rokocoko regard themselves as "cousins" as Sivivatu lived with the Rokocoko family.^[2]

All Blacks

He was first named in a trials squad for All Black selection in 2004, despite the fact that he had not yet completed his required three years of residence to qualify as a New Zealand rugby representative. He made his Test debut against Fiji and broke the All Blacks record by scoring four tries. Sivivatu was selected for the All Blacks in 2005 and started in all three of the All Blacks Tests against the British and Irish Lions on their 2005 tour of New Zealand, scoring tries in the first two Tests.

Move to France

In March 2011, he signed a 2-year deal with French rugby giants, ASM Clermont Auvergne.^[3] He was signed as a replacement for Fijian flyer Napolioni Nalaga, who returned to Fiji due to personal problems. He was not included in the New Zealand squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.^[4]

In June 2016, Sivivatu retired as a player for Castres and joined the staff as a technical adviser and help integrate foreign players.^[5]

Controversy

On 11 April 2007 Sivivatu pleaded guilty to slapping his wife in March 2007.^[6] He was discharged without conviction and ordered to pay a fine.^[6] On leaving court Sivivatu said "I'm clearly sorry about what I did".^[6]

Notes

References

• SA Sports Illustrated. "My Hero: Four All Black rugby players reveal their sport heroes." October 2008: 35.

External links

• Sitiveni Sivivatu at AllBlacks.com
• "Sitiveni Sivivatu". teivovo.com. Archived from the original on 15 December 2006. Retrieved 3 June 2007.
• "Sitiveni Sivivatu". mooloo.co.nz. Archived from the original on 15 February 2008. Retrieved 3 June 2007.
• "Sitiveni Sivivatu". chiefs.co.nz. Archived from the original on 21 June 2007. Retrieved 3 June 2007.