Ilivasi Tabua
Encyclopedia
Ilivasi Sevia Tabua Tamanivalu (born 30 September 1964 in Naivicula) is a former fiji
an rugby union
footballer who played at international level for both Fiji
and Australia
as flanker
.
He also coached the Fiji national team
at the 2007 Rugby World Cup
.
sevens team in the 1993 Sevens World Cup, after which he played for Australia
in fifteens in the 1995 Rugby World Cup
. He has played 10 test for Australia
. In the 1999 Rugby World Cup
he played for
the Fiji
team. He was nicknamed the Human Skewer.
group as his father's was a teacher at one of the schools on the chiefly island. Ilivasi started school at Mabula, Cicia in Lau before his family moved to the mainland in the 1970s. His family settled at Naivicula, Tailevu
where his father comes from. He attended Marist Brothers High School
. In 1980, Ilivasi left to further his studies in Australia
. He was recently appointed as the head coach of Fiji's HPU and helped the former Fiji coach Wayne Pivac
with the Fiji team, but when Pivac resigned from Fiji rugby, Tabua was picked as the man to replace him and he was chosen as the new coach. He was also the first Fijian to be appointed the national coach to the Rugby World Cup
. He comes at the tail end of a succession of expatriates including George Simpkin, Brad Johnstone
, Greg Smith, Mac McCallion
and Pivac who left in 2006. On 19 August 2009 Tabua was sacked by the Fiji Rugby Union
citing off-field incidents during Fiji's 2009 IRB Pacific Nations Cup
campaign.
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 who played at international level for both Fiji
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...
and Australia
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
as flanker
Flanker (rugby union)
A flanker is a position in the sport of rugby union. Flankers play in the forwards, and are generally classified as either blindside, or openside flankers; numbers six and seven respectively. The name comes from their position in a scrum in which they flank each set of forwards...
.
He also coached the Fiji 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...
at the 2007 Rugby World Cup
2007 Rugby World Cup
The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003,...
.
Career
Tabua played for AustraliaAustralia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
sevens team in the 1993 Sevens World Cup, after which he played for Australia
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
in fifteens in the 1995 Rugby World Cup
1995 Rugby World Cup
The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country....
. He has played 10 test for Australia
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
. In 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...
he played for
the Fiji
Fiji Rugby Union
Fiji Rugby Union is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in Fiji. It is divided into over 30 provincial unions. The Fiji Rugby Union is a member of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance , along with Samoa and Tonga. There are approximately 80,000 registered players from a total population...
team. He was nicknamed the Human Skewer.
Personal life
He was raised in a family of seven siblings five boys and two girls. He spent the first 12 years of his childhood in the LauLau
Lau may refer to:An indigenous people that live on the Solomon Islands.People with the German/Austrian surname:* Charlie Lau, catcher and hitting coach in Major League Baseball* Laurence Lau , actor...
group as his father's was a teacher at one of the schools on the chiefly island. Ilivasi started school at Mabula, Cicia in Lau before his family moved to the mainland in the 1970s. His family settled at Naivicula, Tailevu
Tailevu
Tailevu is one of the 14 provinces of Fiji. One of eight Provinces based in Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island, its 755 square kilometers occupy the south-eastern fringe of the island, along with some central areas. At the 2007 census, the most recent to date, it had a population of 55,692, the...
where his father comes from. He attended Marist Brothers High School
Marist Brothers High School (Fiji)
Marist Brother's High School is a Roman Catholic all-boys high school situated in Suva, the capital of Fiji. It is a school in the Marist tradition, founded in 1949 by the order of Marist Brothers, which has had a presence in Fiji since 1844. The Catholic Marist education in Fiji is acknowledged...
. In 1980, Ilivasi left to further his studies 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...
Coaching career
After retiring from international rugby, he came back to Fiji to help the Fiji team to prepare for the 2007 Rugby World Cup2007 Rugby World Cup
The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003,...
. He was recently appointed as the head coach of Fiji's HPU and helped the former Fiji coach Wayne Pivac
Wayne Pivac
Wayne Pivac is a professional rugby union coach. He is a former Northland and Auckland coach, and also a former policeman. Pivac coached Northland to NPC Second Division success in 1997 and earned them promotion to First Division the following year....
with the Fiji team, but when Pivac resigned from Fiji rugby, Tabua was picked as the man to replace him and he was chosen as the new coach. He was also the first Fijian to be appointed the national coach to 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....
. He comes at the tail end of a succession of expatriates including George Simpkin, Brad Johnstone
Brad Johnstone
Bradley Ronald Johnstone , known as Brad Johnstone, is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer and a current coach...
, Greg Smith, Mac McCallion
Mac McCallion
Mac McCallion is a rugby union coach who formerly led the Fiji national team. He was appointed Fiji’s national coaching director in March 2002. He was named New Zealand coach of the year in 1996 and 1997 for his work with the NPC Division One outfit Counties...
and Pivac who left in 2006. On 19 August 2009 Tabua was sacked by the Fiji Rugby Union
Fiji Rugby Union
Fiji Rugby Union is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in Fiji. It is divided into over 30 provincial unions. The Fiji Rugby Union is a member of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance , along with Samoa and Tonga. There are approximately 80,000 registered players from a total population...
citing off-field incidents during Fiji's 2009 IRB Pacific Nations Cup
2009 IRB Pacific Nations Cup
The 2009 Pacific Nations Cup is a rugby union tournament held between five national sides on the Pacific Rim: Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Tonga and the Junior All Blacks. The New Zealand Māori team that won the tournament last year will no longer take part in this competition because of a decision taken by...
campaign.