Waisale Serevi

Waisale Serevi
Serevi in Fiji for the 2013 Coral Coast 7's
Serevi in 2014
Birth nameWaisale Tikoisolomoni Serevi
Date of birth (1968-05-20) 20 May 1968 (age 56)
Place of birthSuva, Fiji
Height1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight85 kg (13 st 5 lb; 187 lb)
SchoolDelainamasi Government School
Lelean Memorial School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fly-half, Fullback, Scrum-half
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
Nasinu ()
1987–88 Rewa ()
1989 Nabua ()
1989 Suva ()
Correct as of 14 March 2007
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1993–96 Mitsubishi 0 (0)
1997–98 Leicester ()
1998–2003 Stade Montois ()
2004 Stade Bordelais ()
2004–08 Staines ()
Correct as of 14 March 2007
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1987 Fiji B
1987 Fiji XV
1989–03 Fiji 39 (219)
Correct as of 14 March 2007
National sevens team
Years Team Comps
1990–07 Fiji 359
Correct as of 9 July 2007
Coaching career
Years Team
2005–07 Fiji Sevens
2008–09 Fiji Sevens
2018–19 Russia Sevens
Correct as of 28 November 2019
Medal record
Men's rugby sevens
Representing  Fiji
Rugby World Cup Sevens
Gold medal – first place 1997 HongKong Team competition
Gold medal – first place 2005 HongKong Team competition
Commonwealth Games
Silver medal – second place 1998 Kuala Lumpur Team competition
Silver medal – second place 2002 Manchester Team competition
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Melbourne Team competition

Waisale Tikoisolomoni Serevi (born 20 May 1968) is a Fijian former rugby union football player and coach, and is a member of the World Rugby Hall of Fame.[1] Serevi is renowned for his achievements in rugby sevens, while also enjoying a long career in fifteen-a-side rugby at both club and national team levels. Nicknamed "The Wizard" by commentators, he is widely considered to be the greatest rugby sevens player in the history of the game.[2][3][4] A biography of Serevi titled Waisale Serevi: King of Sevens by Nick Darvenzi was published in 2018.[5]

In the 15-man game, he played for Fiji 39 times between 1989 and 2003, and scored 376 points. This included representing Fiji in the 1991, 1999, and 2003 Rugby World Cups. He also played professionally for the Mitsubishi, Leicester, Stade Montois, Stade Bordelais and Staines rugby teams.[6]

His representative sevens career started in 1989 when he played for Fiji at the Hong Kong tournament. Serevi also played in the 1993, 1997, 2001, and 2005 Rugby World Cup Sevens, winning the World Cup with Fiji in 1997 and 2005. He won silver at the Commonwealth Games in 1998 and 2002, and captured bronze in 2006. Serevi played in the International Rugby Board Sevens Series since its creation in 1999. In 2005 after winning the 2005 Rugby World Cup Sevens Serevi was appointed player-coach of the Fiji Sevens national team. He led Fiji to the 2005–06 World Sevens Series victory – the first time the series was won by a team other than New Zealand.

  1. ^ "Fiji Sevens great Serevi enters IRB Hall of Fame". USA Rugby.
  2. ^ "Sevens heaven – the best in the business". ESPN.
  3. ^ "Vote: Who is the greatest sevens player of all time?". Rugby World. 13 March 2015.
  4. ^ "Rugby Sevens is Exploding – and Here is its Greatest Ever Team". Huffington Post. 19 April 2012.
  5. ^ "Serevi book for sale | Fiji Sun". fijisun.com.fj. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  6. ^ Age not an issue for Serevi, news24 archives, 2005-02-23