Seru Rabeni Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Seru Rabeni

South Africa vs Fiji during 2007 Rugby World Cup

Birth name

Ratu Seru Rabeni

Date of birth

27 December 1978

Place of birth

Bua, Fiji

Date of death

15 March 2016 (aged 37)

Place of death

Nausori, Fiji

Height

188 cm (6 ft 2 in)

Weight

106 kg (16 st 10 lb; 234 lb)

School

Nadi District, Ratu Kadavulevu, Lautoka Teachers

University

Otago University

Notable relative(s)

Rupeni Caucaunibuca (cousin)

Occupation(s)

Rugby Player & Coach

Rugby union career

Senior career
Position(s)	Centre, Wing
Years	Team	Apps	(Points)
1998–1999	Lautoka		()
2000	Suva		()
2002	Alhambra	7	(5)
2002	Otago	7	(5)
2003	Naitasiri		()
2004	Otago	2	(0)
2004–2009	Leicester	63	(90)
2009–2010	Leeds	19	(5)
2010–2012	La Rochelle	41	(15)
2012–2013	Mont-de-Marsan	9	(0)
Super Rugby
Years	Team	Apps	(Points)
2003–04	Highlanders	11	(15)
National team(s)
Years	Team	Apps	(Points)
2000–2011	Fiji	30	(10)
2004–2008	Pacific Islanders	9	(19)

Ratu Seru Rabeni (born December 27, 1978 – died March 15, 2016) was a famous Fijian rugby union player. He usually played as a centre or wing. People often called him "Rambo" because of how strong he was and his powerful tackles.

Seru Rabeni's Rugby Journey
Life After Playing Rugby
- Coaching Career
- Hong Kong National League
His Passing
See also

Seru Rabeni's Rugby Journey

Starting His Rugby Career

Seru Rabeni was born and grew up in Bua, Fiji. He started playing rugby when he was very young at Ratu Kadavulevu School. In 1998 and 1999, he played for the Lautoka team while he was studying at Lautoka Teachers College. Later, in 2000, he joined the Suva club.

Seru first played Sevens rugby in Dubai in 1998. He also played in two Hong Kong Sevens tournaments. Before joining the main Fiji team, he played for the Fiji U21 and U23 teams. His first big game for Fiji was in May 2000 against Japan in Tokyo. Sadly, an ankle injury made him miss the rest of that tournament.

Playing in New Zealand

In 2001, Seru went to the University of Otago in New Zealand to study. The next year, he played seven games for Otago in the National Provincial Championship. This led him to get a contract with the Super 12 team, Highlanders. He played 12 games for them during the 2003 and 2004 seasons.

Playing in Europe

After playing for the Pacific Islanders team, Seru Rabeni joined the English club Leicester Tigers. He scored 12 tries in 39 games for them. During his time at Leicester, he faced some knee injuries, which caused him to miss a whole season. In 2008, he was suspended for 14 weeks. Despite this, he helped Leicester win the Premiership title in 2007, even starting in the final game.

In 2009, he was supposed to join another team, Gloucester, but the deal didn't work out because of a medical check. After that, he signed with Leeds Carnegie. In 2010, Seru moved to France and joined Stade Rochelais, a new team in the Top 14 league. His last professional rugby team was Stade Montois for the 2012–13 season.

International Rugby Games

Seru Rabeni played many important games for his country, Fiji.

In 2002, he toured New Zealand with the Fiji team.
He also played against Wales in Cardiff the same year.
He represented Fiji Sevens at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, where Fiji won a silver medal.
In 2003, he toured South America with the national team. He scored a try against Chile in Santiago, helping Fiji win 41–16.
In 2004, he played for the new Pacific Islanders team in all three of their games. He scored a try against New Zealand and two conversions against South Africa.
Seru was one of the few players who went on every tour with the Pacific Islanders in 2004, 2006, and 2008. He scored 3 tries and 2 conversions for them.

Rugby World Cup Appearances

Seru Rabeni played in two Rugby World Cup tournaments for Fiji.

In the 2003 Rugby World Cup, he started all four of Fiji's group games. He played at centre against France, the USA, Japan, and Scotland.
He also played for Fiji in the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France. He played in all four group games and the quarterfinals. He showed off his amazing tackling skills against Australia, even causing injuries to two of their players. He was also a key player when Fiji beat Wales 38–34, helping Fiji reach the quarterfinals for the second time since 1987. He scored one try in the tournament, against Japan.

Life After Playing Rugby

Coaching Career

In the summer of 2013, Seru Rabeni moved to the United States. He became an Assistant Coach for the college rugby team at Lindenwood University in Saint Louis, Missouri.

In September 2014, Seru moved to Hong Kong to be with his family. He was working on his Masters in Sports Marketing & Business Management. He became the Head Coach for the Discovery Bay Pirates youth teams (U13s to U19s) and was also a player-coach for their Championship team. He planned to work with Craig Hammond of Hong Kong Scottish and play for their premiership team.

Hong Kong National League

During the 2014–2015 season, Seru Rabeni was the Head Coach and a player for Hong Kong's largest rugby club, DB Pirates. His last professional game was in March 2015 with the Hong Kong Scottish Exiles in the HK Rugby 10s, where they reached the semi-finals. For the 2015–16 season, the DB Pirates created a Chief Rugby Officer position for Seru. Many people in the Hong Kong rugby community believed he was on his way to becoming Hong Kong's next National Coach.

Seru visited Fiji in June 2015, hoping to play in the World Cup one last time. However, he was delayed in returning to Hong Kong. His sudden and sad passing happened in the same week he had planned to go back to Hong Kong.

His Passing

On the morning of March 15, 2016, Seru Rabeni sadly passed away suddenly at his home in Nausori, Fiji, while having breakfast. The cause of his death was heart failure.

Seru Rabeni facts for kids

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