Bolaca’s rise in 7s
TWO years ago, Maciu Malo, The Fiji Times journalist spotted a young player during the Wadigi 7s tournament and continuously reported his performance.
Malo, now late, even suggested that this young man should be given a chance in the national 7s team to show his capabilities.
Not long, coach Gareth Baber roped in the player where he grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
In a tribute to the late Malo, Napolioni Bolaca’s dad commended the tireless hardwork put in by the former The Fiji Times journalist in making sure the talent his son got needed exposure.
“I would like to acknowledge the late The Fiji Times sports reporter Malo who spotted Ratu, and his talent and communicated with Gareth Baber to watch Ratu play and now he has reaped his rewards of perseverance, sacrifice, hard work and faith in God,” Bolaca’s father Apimeleki Nasalo added.
“His success was part of God’s plan when it comes to rugby and that is why I always give him fatherly advice at the same time,
An uprising star who always watched local rugby tournaments on the sideline with his water bottles waiting to quench the thirst of his club players, the Wadigi 7s team and now the same water boy is a global icon in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.
From the village of Lauwaki in Lautoka, Napolioni was the youngest of five siblings and his rugby career began from a water boy for his club following his father who was the coach for the Lauwaki-based team in every local tournament having the interest to play in 2017.
Nasalo recalled the moment Bolaca was eager to run into the field of play however he denied his son’s request and told him to work and train hard and earn the spot he wants.
“For me as a father and a coach, I had two sons in the team but for Raj (Ratu), he was just a helping hand but one day he asked if he could play rugby and my reply to him was to train and work hard if he wanted to be in my team.
“It was the cup quarter-final in the Yasawa 7s in 2017 and we were up against Ratu Filise and I had no option because of injuries but to let him in during the sudden death and he went in and made a difference scoring the winning try from an individual effort and he did it again in the semi-final and proved his worth in the final where he scored five tries against the Yasawa Stingers and I was impressed with his performance,” said Nasalo.
He started off with rugby in 15s for the Yasawa team and later joined the Wadigi 7s club where he started grooming his 7s skills to become one of the world’s best player.
Everyone’s gifted with a talent and not everyone’s perfect in education and Bolaca has always been that someone during his school days, where he prefers to be in the farm rather than school but God had a plan for him.
He attended Viwa District School in his primary school education then he joined Lautoka Andhra Sangam College in high school.
“Raj wasn’t really good with his school work neither was interested in playing during high school and primary school days but he loved to take care of the farm animals and he loved farming but at the same time he followed the team around as a waterboy,” his father said.
When the young star was named in the Fiji 7s squad, he often lost hope being dropped from a few tournaments but I thank him for never giving up and he had faith and patience until he had his chance.
“As a coach my advice to him was to train hard and corrected him his mistakes in the field but as a father I encouraged him not to give up despite being dropped from some international tournaments and be humble once selected because he will go a long way if he’s humble.”
Bolaca made headline across the globe as the Sydney Player of the Tournament after he showed another level of individual play, mastering his footwork skills that helped the national team win their first tournament for this series.
He dedicated the win and achievement to his family.
“My family is my everything and my achievements is dedicated to my family for always having my back through thick and thin and I hope I made them proud,” said Bolaca.
Meanwhile, the 23-year-old playmaker has played 24 games for Fiji scored 121 points and touched down 11 tries. In the 2020 Series he has scored a total of 75 points after four tournaments and is ranked eighth in the table of top points scorer in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.
During the Fiji 7s team’s training at the Uprising ground last month, Baber said Bolaca was the future of Fiji rugby.
“I saw him at the Wadigi tournament about a year ago and he developed within a year and came through in the final against New Zealand in Paris and was the Player of the final and he’s got the whole thing and you just allow him to get what he wants because he is the future of sevens rugby,” said Baber.