Ratu

Ratu

Ratu is a title used by Fijians of chiefly rank. An equivalent title, Adi is used by females of chiefly rank.-Etymology:Ra is a prefix in many titles and Tu is simply "chief"...

 Apenisa Naevo (born 24 February 1973) is a Fiji

Fiji

Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...

an rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 footballer. His usual position is at lock. He has earned over 30 caps for the national team

Fiji national rugby union team

The Fiji national rugby union team is a member of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance formerly along with Samoa and Tonga. In 2009, Samoa announced their departure from the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance, leaving just Fiji and Tonga. Fiji are ranked sixteenth in the world by the IRB as of 26...

, after debuting in 1996 and going onto represent them at the Rugby World Cup

Rugby World Cup

The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....

.

Naveo made his debut for Fiji on September 29, 1996 in a match against Hong Kong

Hong Kong national rugby union team

The Hong Kong national rugby union team is a third tier rugby union side. Hong Kong first played in 1969 and since then have always been in the group of the best Asian teams. Their team is made mostly from British origin players, with some natives from Hong Kong. They have yet to qualify for the...

. Not only did his career get off to a winning start, with Fiji taking the match 64-11, he scored a try on debut. He played two other games that year, another against Hong Kong, and the other against the NZ Maori.

After being capped three times the following season he went onto appear five times for Fiji in 1998. In 1999 he played three games during June–July, and then four Tests during August and was then included in the Fiji squad for the 1999 Rugby World Cup

1999 Rugby World Cup

The 1999 Rugby World Cup was the fourth Rugby World Cup, and the first to be held in rugby union's professional era. The principal host nation was Wales, although the majority of matches were played outside the country, shared between England, France, Scotland and Ireland...

 in Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

. He played two matches during the tournament; the games against Namibia

Namibia national rugby union team

The Namibian rugby union team, nicknamed the Welwitschias or Biltongboere, represents Namibia at rugby union. Although they are a tier-three nation in the International Rugby Board tier system, the team have participated in all three Rugby World Cup competitions since their first appearance in 1999...

 and Canada

Canada national rugby union team

The Canada national rugby union team represents Canada in international rugby union. They are governed by Rugby Canada, and play in red and black. Canada is classified by the International Rugby Board as a tier two rugby nation. There are ten tier one nations, and seven tier two nations, the...

 during the pool stages.

He next played for Fiji in May 2001, and went onto play another five times that season. He went on tour in November of the 2002 season, playing in the games against Wales

Wales national rugby union team

The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...

, Ireland

Ireland national rugby union team

The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...

 and Scotland

Scotland national rugby union team

The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...

. After playng two games in July 2003 he was included in the Fiji squad for the 2003 Rugby World Cup

2003 Rugby World Cup

The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and Rugby World...

 in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, playing three games, against France

France national rugby union team

The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...

 and the United States

United States national rugby union team

USA Rugby's men's national rugby union team, nicknamed the Eagles, represents the United States in the sport of rugby union. The Eagles are currently ranked 17th by the IRB World Rankings. Their highest ranking was from November 2, 2006 – September 10, 2007 at the 14th position...

, scoring tries in both, and the games against Scotland

Scotland national rugby union team

The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...

.

Naevo's father, Ratu

Ratu

Ratu is a title used by Fijians of chiefly rank. An equivalent title, Adi is used by females of chiefly rank.-Etymology:Ra is a prefix in many titles and Tu is simply "chief"...

 Apisai Naevo

Apisai Naevo

Ratu Apisai D. Naevo is a Fijian Chief and political leader. As Tui Nawaka, he is the paramount chief of the vanua of Nawaka, Nadi. He has two sons, Apenisa Naevo and Semisi Naevo, both of whom play rugby for Fiji. A retired school teacher, he is a member of the Ba Provincial Council and various...

, is the Paramount Chief of Nawaka, in Nadi

Nadi

Nadi is the third-largest conurbation in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 42,284 at the most recent census, in 2007. Nadi is multiracial with many of its inhabitants Indian or Fijian, along with a large transient population of foreign...

. His brother, Semisi Naevo

Semisi Naevo

Ratu Meli Semisi Naevo Saukawa is a Fijian rugby union player. He plays as a flanker. His nickname is Mountain Bear. As such, he enjoys eating. His father, Joeli Lesavua, and two brothers, Apenisa and Manoa Naevo, are also Fiji reps.-Career:He plays sevens for Fiji...

, is also a rugby player.

Fiji Team

• Test debut: 1996 vs Hong Kong in Aberdeen
• 35 caps 6 tries 30 points (49 games, 11 tries, 55 points)

External links

• Api Naevo on rwc2003.irb.com

Apenisa Naevo is the son of Joeli Lesavua, the younger brother of Ratu Apisai D.Naevo