Alivereti Raka
Ratu Alivereti Raka (born 9 December 1994) is a Fijian born rugby union player who plays for the France national rugby union team. He played wing for Nadroga and now for French Top 14 side Clermont.[3]
 Raka in 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 9 December 1994 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Nakorovatu, Naitasiri, Fiji | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 95 kg (14 st 13 lb)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Early life and career
Raka was born in Nakorovatu, Naitasiri, he studied at Waimala Secondary School. He played age grade rugby for Nadroga in the u16 and u20 grade before joining the main Nadroga team in 2014.[4] He played 7's rugby for local side Tovolea before joining champion side Daveta in 2014. He made his debut for Nadroga in October 2014 against Vatukoula in the Skipper Cup scoring a try on debut.[5]
Clermont
Raka joined the ASM Clermont academy in November 2014 as part of a memorandum between Nadroga Rugby and ASM Clermont. He joined other players that had joined the academy such as Peceli Yato and Uwa Tuwalo.[6]
Raka was selected into the main Clermont side for the 2015–16 Top 14 season. On September 5, he made his debut against Oyonnax Rugby off the bench and scored a try.[7]
In March 2016, Raka scored 2 brilliant tries against Stade Toulousain.[8] He has scored 5 tries in 6 games since his debut.
Raka played in the 2016–17 Top 14 Final after an injury ruled out Noa Nakaitaci and he scored Clermont's only try in the first half helping them to win the Final.
In September 2017, his contract with Clermont was extended by three more years.[9]
International career
International tries
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 August 2019 | Allianz Riviera, Nice, France |  Scotland |
5–3 | 32–3 | 2019 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches |
| 2 | 2 October 2019 | Fukuoka Hakatanomori Stadium, Fukuoka, Japan |  United States |
12–3 | 33–9 | 2019 Rugby World Cup |
| 3 | 6 October 2019 | Kumamoto Stadium, Kumamoto, Japan |  Tonga |
15–0 | 23–21 | 2019 Rugby World Cup |
Trivia
His surname "Raka" is the Fijian word for Rugby.
References
- "Alivereti Raka Rugby | Alivereti Raka News, Stats & Team | RugbyPass".
- "Alivereti Raka Rugby | Alivereti Raka News, Stats & Team | RugbyPass".
- "Alivereti Raka". www.itsrugby.fr. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
- Malo, Maciu (18 November 2014). "Nadroga flyer to join Clermont rugby". Fiji Times. Archived from the original on 2015-02-01. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
- Malo, Maciu (12 October 2014). "First try for debutant Raka". Fiji Times. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
- Kinsella, Murray (22 March 2016). "Clermont's newest flying Fijian, 21-year-old Raka, ripped Toulouse apart". The42.ie. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
- Bonnaure, Guillaume (5 September 2015). "3e journée Top 14 - Oyonnax-Clermont (24-41): Clermont poursuit son début de saison canon (fr)". RugbyRama. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
- Village, Fiji. "Raka shows individual brilliance to destroy Toulouse". fijivillage.com. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
- "(RugbyU): Clermont extend contracts of Penaud, Raka". NST Online. 8 September 2017. Retrieved 2017-09-17.