Sevu Reece
Sevuloni Lasei Reece (born 13 February 1997) is a Fiji-born, New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a wing for the Crusaders in Super Rugby and for Waikato in New Zealand's domestic Mitre 10 Cup.[3]
| Full name | Sevuloni Lasei Reece | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 13 February 1997 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Nadi, Fiji | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 179 cm (5 ft 10 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 98 kg (216 lb; 15 st 6 lb)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Hamilton Boys' High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Early career
Reece was born and raised in Fiji and attended Queen Victoria School. He represented the school in rugby and track and field in the Coke Games. He was a high jumper and a 100m sprinter. He finished 5th in the High Jump in his category in his last year in school with a jump of 1.70m. He also finished 3rd with his 4x100m relay team. Reece moved to New Zealand in 2014 and attended Hamilton Boys' High School where he played first XV rugby. After graduating high school, local Waikato club Melville signed him up on a development contract. In 2016, he finished as the club's top points scorer as they lifted the Breweries Shield for the first time in 35 years.[4]
Professional career
Excellent performances as a centre and outside back for Melville saw him called up to the Waikato squad for the 2016 Mitre 10 Cup. He debuted in a Ranfurly Shield defence against Thames Valley on 6 June 2016 and went on to make 12 Ranfurly Shield and Mitre 10 Cup appearances during the season, scoring 7 tries in the process.[3][5]
Irish Pro14 club Connacht announced the signing of Reece in May 2018. He was set to join his new team after completing his Waikato commitments in the 2018 Mitre 10 Cup, however, in October 2018 it was announced that Connacht had decided to not go along with the deal in light of a domestic violence case against Reece, in which he pleaded guilty and was discharged without conviction.[6]
In December 2018, Reece was called up to the Crusaders squad as a cover and was later added to the main team after strong performances in the pre-season, but after a career ending injury to Israel Dagg, Reece was brought into the main squad. In March 2019, he made his debut on the right wing against the Chiefs as a cover for Manasa Mataele who was injured the previous week and ruled out for the season. He scored an intercept try as well as winning the Man of the Match.[7] He became a starter on the right wing for the remainder of the season scoring 15 tries and topping the try scoring charts for the 2019 Super Rugby season.
International
In July 2019, Reece was named in the 39-member All Blacks team to prepare for the upcoming Rugby Championship and the 2019 Rugby World Cup. He made his international debut on the right wing in the first 2019 Rugby Championship game against Argentina.
References
- https://www.allblacks.com/playerprofiles/sevu-reece/
- https://www.allblacks.com/playerprofiles/sevu-reece/
- "Sevu Reece Waikato Player Profile". Mooloo Rugby. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
- "Sevu Reece soars to Waikato's wing as dizzying rise through the ranks continues". Rugby Heaven. 21 September 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
- "Sevu Reece itsrugby Player Statistics". it's rugby. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
- "Connacht Rugby announce signing of Sevu Reece from Waikato". Connacht Rugby. 28 May 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
- Super Rugby: Crusaders new strike weapon Sevu Reece 'incredible' on debut