Amenoni Nasilasila (born 8 February 1992) is a Fijian rugby union footballer.[2] He had played for the Fiji sevens team. Nasilasila made his debut for Fiji 7s at the 2014 Dubai Sevens.

Amenoni Nasilasila
Nasilasila in 2017
Date of birth (1992-02-08) 8 February 1992 (age 32)
Place of birthNamatakula, Nadroga
Height170 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Weight80 kg (12 st 8 lb; 180 lb)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flyhalf, scrumhalf, wing
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016–19 Navosa ()
National sevens team
Years Team Comps
2014–2019 Fiji 7s[1] 102
Correct as of 13 Dec 2017

Career

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Nasilasila grew up in Namatakula, the famous town known for creating rugby union and league stars like Noa Nadruku who is his uncle,[3] Lote Tuqiri who is his cousin[3] and Nemani Nadolo. He played rugby league and was part of the Fiji Residents Rugby league side, a feeder for the Fiji Bati. He wanted a career in rugby league and waited for 3 years for offers but then switched to rugby union joining a top local 7's club, Ratu Filise.[3] He was spotted by then coach Ben Ryan who saw him playing in one of the local tournaments and included him in his extended side for the 2014 Gold Coast Sevens but an injury ruled him out on the eleventh hour.[4] He made his debut at the 2014 Dubai Sevens making his debut against France scoring a try in their 54–7 thrashing.[5] He did not make the Fiji side to the 2016 Olympic Games

He also represented his provincial side, Navosa in the Skipper Cup playing at playmaker and halfback.[6] He captained the Fiji Barbarians 7's side top the SUDAmerica 7's in December 2016.[7]

He was included by the new Fiji 7's coach, Gareth Baber for the 2016–17 World Rugby Sevens Series.[8]

Nasilasila was selected as the 13th man for the first tournament, of the 2017–18 World Rugby Sevens Series, the 2017 Dubai Sevens but an injury to Waisea Nacuqu on Day One saw him getting selected for the main team and played very well and got praises from the coach after helping Fiji beat the Australia in the dying stages of their final pool game[9] and after Naququ failed to recover in time, he made the main team for the 2017 South Africa Sevens. His performance in that tournament saw him make the Dream Team for the first time as well as being named the DHL Impact Player of the Cape Town 7s.[10]

Rape conviction

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On October 23, 2019, Nasilasila was sentenced to eight years imprisonment for raping a 24-year-old woman on December 22, 2018. The incident took place at a settlement in Sigatoka.[11]

References

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  1. ^ "Mens & Womens Rugby Sevens Teams | HSBC Rugby SVNS Series".
  2. ^ World Rugby Sevens Series (4 December 2015). "FIJI 7S Squads". Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  3. ^ a b c UR7s (2014-09-26). "News: Rugby League convert Eminoni Nasilasila aiming for success with Fiji Sevens on HSBC World Sevens Series – ur7s". ur7s. Archived from the original on 2017-12-13. Retrieved 2017-12-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ "This team is much fitter than Gold Coast winning team says Ryan – Fiji Times Online". fijitimes.com. Archived from the original on 2017-12-13. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
  5. ^ worldrugby.org. "HSBC Sevens World Series". worldrugby.org. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
  6. ^ Zanzeer Singh (2016-10-01). "Nasilasila to start – Fiji Times Online". fijitimes.com. Archived from the original on 2017-12-13. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
  7. ^ "Nasilasila to captain Fiji Babas 7s". Fiji One. 2016-12-31. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
  8. ^ "Nasilasila and Labalaba back for Fiji 7s". Fiji One. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
  9. ^ Sikeli Qounadovu (2017-12-03). "13th man – Fiji Times Online". fijitimes.com. Archived from the original on 2017-12-13. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
  10. ^ Moiz Munif (2017-12-13). "Nasilasila a standout in 7s series – Fiji Times Online". fijitimes.com. Archived from the original on 2017-12-13.
  11. ^ "Amenoni Nasilasila sentenced to 8 years imprisonment". Fijivillage. 23 October 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
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