Former Fiji under-20 rugby rep Lekima Tagitagivalu is carving his name as another Fijian making his mark in international rugby.
The Marou Village, Naviti, Yasawa rugger scored a try in the Barbarians’ 35-31 win against the All Blacks XV in the Killik Cup in London on Monday.
Tagitagivalu, who comes from the same village as Fiji rep Eroni ‘Sledgehammer’ Sau, was part of the Flying Fijians squad in 2020 in the Autumn Nations Cup in Europe.
The Barbarians, coached by former Crusaders mentor Scott Roberson, outplayed the All Blacks XV across the park, trailing 35-24 until a Bailyn Sullivan try with eight minutes to play set up a tight finish.
Robertson was reported in a video encouraging the Fijian lock and the rest of the team before the match.
In the video, while speaking to the players, he turned and spoke to his Fijian find and told him to “be brave for your village and the little town that you’re from. “Be brave with your head, brave with your shoulder and brave with you heart.”
At the second-half, Robertson continued. “Awesome effort,” he told the team.
“You finish the call for a reason, you come over and we go again. They will be looking from the corner of their eyes, they are looking at you,” he told Tagitagivalu.
“They are looking at you Lekima, make sure they keep looking and you leave a mark on them.
“Let’s finish this job,” he told the team before they ran out for the second spell.
The Yasawa islander and former Tilak High School student of Lautoka, is a tireless defender and an aggressive runner.
He plays for Pau Rugby Club in France alongside former Flying Fijians Jale Vatubua, Watisoni Votu and national 7s rep Aminiasi Tuimaba.
He is the younger brother of former Flying Fijian Ropate Ratu.
