Name Virimi Vakatawa Height 1.86 m | Weight 92 kg | |
 | ||
Spotlight virimi vakatawa wellington 7s
Virimi Vakatawa (born 1 May 1992) is a Fijian born rugby union player who plays for Racing 92 in the Top 14 and the French national team. His position is wing and centre. He joined the French 7s team in 2014 and in January 2016, he was included in the French national team for the 2016 Six Nations Championship.
Contents
Virimi vakatawa mpg
Club
He began his career in Fiji playing for his school Nasinu Secondary School before getting recruited by France-based Fijian winger, Sireli Bobo and joining Racing Métro 92 in 2010. He was mentored by another former flying Fijian in Simon Raiwalui. He played his first game in the 2010–11 Heineken Cup where he scored his first try against Leinster.
On 13 June 2017, it was confirmed that Vakatawa would be rejoining Racing 92 for the 2017–18 season.
International
In 2013, he became eligible to represent France. He was released from his contract and he joined the French sevens team. He became a star in rugby 7s for France
On 19 January 2016, Vakatawa was named in France's rugby union squad for the Six Nations Tournament by Guy Novès. He has been labelled as the French answer to All Black Sonny Bill Williams. He made his debut against Italy scoring a try.
In October 2016, he was included again in the French 15's team even though he has yet to play for a Top 14 team. He played his first game on the wing against Samoa, scoring three tries. He played a week later against Australia scoring a try in their 23-25 loss. He partnered Noa Nakaitaci on the wings and was renamed alongside Noa in their final test of the year against New Zealand. He was also named in the French 7's team for the 2016 Dubai Sevens a week later.
On 24 May 2016, Vakatawa signed a two year deal with the FFR so that he would exclusively play for the French 7s and 15s national teams.
However, a complete season and some physical glitches were enough to demonstrate the limitations of this model. The incompatible schedules and the differences in athletic preparation did not allow him to be free for all the Tournaments of the world circuit, nor truly perform at the highest level for either team.
On 13 June 2017, it was announced that Vakatawa and the Federation had agreed to release him from his contract so that he could be able to find a club and play rugby union full time. As part of this new deal however, he would still be available for the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens in the Bay Area.
