The food bill must have been horrendous in the Cavubati household back in Nadroga.
The Tasman Rugby Union and Waimea Old Boys' new Fijian lock signing, Tevita Cavubati, is one of 11 brothers and the youngest sibling of former Wellington prop 'Big Bill' Cavubati, who played 38 tests for Fiji between 1995 and 2005.
But where the massive 165kg former Wellington tighthead grew sideways, 24-year-old Tevita grew upwards and now the 1.98 metre, 120kg lock is anticipating his latest assignment in the heart of Tasman's ITM Cup forward pack. He certainly helps to provide the size element Tasman has been lacking, and after 12 appearances of his own for Fiji, including two tests, is also starting to harness some experience on the international scene.
He's not new to New Zealand rugby, having played in Taranaki in 2008 and 2010 as a member of the Spotswood United club. And although he never quite managed to break into Taranaki's ITM Cup lineup due to the presence of established Taranaki locks Jason Eaton, Craig Clarke and James Broadhurst, he did represent Taranaki at both sevens and development team level.
He even caught New Zealand sevens coach Gordon Tietjens' eye at the national sevens tournament in Queenstown in 2008, although Cavubati felt then that his long-term future lay with the Fijian test team. He's still young in international locking terms and although he just missed selection in last year's Fiji Rugby World Cup squad, is now hoping to establish himself in Fiji's 2012 squad under new coach and former test No8 Inoke Male.
That means playing regular high-quality rugby, which Cavubati reckons New Zealand's provincial ITM Cup competition will help him achieve. Tasman just happened to fall nicely into the mix.
From Fairfax news.
No comments:
Post a Comment