PLAYER SUCCESS
Faith keeps Flying Fijian Murimurivalu running
Kini Murimurivalu has yet to hear from new Fiji Airways Flying Fijians head coach Vern Cotter. But the Lami, Rewa native is ready for duty for the Autumn Nations Cup internationals should his services be required. The 30-cap international, who has represented Fiji at fullback in three Rugby World Cup (2011, 2015, 2019), is ready to get stuck in once his settling-in phase at Leicester has passed off successfully.
Murimurivalu made his debut for the Leicester Tigers in the 28-24 win over Taqele Naiyaravoro’s Northampton Saints. He partnered fellow Fijian Nemani Nadolo on the wing in round 20 of the Gallagher Premiership Rugby on September 13.
In an interview with Rugby Pass, Murimurivalu said: “The first thing I have to do now is to listen to the coaches. I really love it here at Leicester because we have been working together as a team in order to help the team win.
“It’s good for Fiji to be included in the Autumn Nations Cup, and also for preparation for the World Cup because we haven’t got any of those opportunities. We have no more than 10 Test matches a year, so this competition will be really good for the boys and preparing the team for the next World Cup,” he said.
“At the moment I haven’t heard anything from Fiji or Cotter, so my focus now is on Leicester.
“With the travel ban and the COVID-19 pandemic, they will be just selecting the players in the Northern Hemisphere but hopefully next year they will be getting players from Fiji and giving them a chance.”
Since leaving France and fresh out of a two-week quarantine in a hotel at the English Midlands, Murimurivalu impressed Leicester Tigers head coach Steve Borthwick that he was named on the run-on team to face Castres in the European Challenge Cup quarterfinal last weekend.
But Leicester was awarded the match on medical ground after three Castre players tested positive for COVID-19.
And the Tigers will now face Masivesi Dakuwaqa’s Toulon in France on Saturday.
Faith keeps Kini tick
Life may be different now that Murimurivalu has arrived at Leicester following 10 Top 14 seasons in France, but one ritual hasn’t changed in the slightest – practising his religious faith.
Prior to his Tigers debut he was spotted with a message to God visible on his wristband while taking a moment out on the Welford Road turf to say a prayer before kickoff.
Faith has always been the reliable companion which the 31-year-old has been able to rely on to help keep him focused. “I believe in the Lord Jesus and my faith had brought me here this far,” he said.
“I was blessed with my family back at home and now my small family.
“They allowed me to believe in the Lord and that allowed me to fall back on my faith and that is what keeps us going. It’s a big testimony for me and for my career because I thought my rugby was over but it just kept me going. When you stick to the word of God, that is the thing that keeps me going every day. That is the secret for my success, who I believe in. “When we are home it’s the first thing we are told by our parents or guardians to remember God first and in everything you do, it’s God first. That is the advice given to all the younger generation when we left Fiji whenever we left the country.
Culture shock
It’s good for Fiji to be included in the Autumn Nations Cup, ...because we haven’t got any of those opportunities. We have no more than 10 Test matches a year, so this competition will be really good for the boys... Kini Murimurivalu Flying Fijian
“When I first came to France that was the big culture shock. Back at home, we didn’t get paid that much so when we have money, that is when things come into your mind, he said ‘Oh I want this, I want that’. I was lucky that Seremaia Bai was there when I came to Clermont and (Napolioni) Nalaga, they were the ones that were giving me advice.
“Especially Bai, he helped me to save money for my family because I didn’t know about saving and all this kind of stuff. He was the one who was telling me about my rugby career and he was the one who was telling me you know you have 10 or more years of professional rugby.”