Rupeni Caucaunibuca

Caucaunibuca grew up in Bua Province, in the north of Fiji. His father was a missionary who moved often, and the family had little money.^[4] He broke into the Fiji sevens team in 2000. Despite playing in only five of the nine tournaments of the 2000–01 World Sevens Series, he led the side with 38 tries.^[5] He won a silver medal with the Fiji sevens team at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, where New Zealand beat Fiji 33–15 in the final.^[6]

Caucaunibuca played wing for Fiji and for club sides in New Zealand and France, including Super Rugby's Blues and the provincial side Northland.

He came to wider notice at the 2003 Rugby World Cup. Against France, he took a long cut-out pass just outside his own 22 and beat his opposite number Aurélien Rougerie and the covering defence to score under the posts.^[7] In Fiji's final Pool B match against Scotland, he scored two solo tries, one finishing down the left touchline and one starting from near his own 22; Scotland won the match 22–20 to eliminate Fiji.^[8] Writing in The Sunday Times, the rugby correspondent Stephen Jones later described him as one of the finest attacking players in the game.^[9]

After the World Cup, he stated his intention of switching allegiances from Fiji to New Zealand, in order to play rugby for New Zealand. Caucaunibuca was prevented from doing this by the eligibility rules, which tied him to Fiji following his previous appearances for them. The IRB failed to amend the eligibility rules (and New Zealand separately stated they had not approached him about this transfer), and Caucaunibuca continued to play for Fiji.^[10][11]

In 2005 Caucaunibuca missed a flight to a Test against Samoa, later saying he had stayed in Fiji with his wife, who had a toothache. The Fiji Rugby Union imposed a twelve-month ban.^[12] The ban was lifted early in May 2006.^[13] On his return he played in a 17–35 loss to the Junior All Blacks in Suva,^[14] and later scored in a 29–18 win over Italy.^[15]

He was named in the Pacific Islanders rugby union team for the 2006 tour of Europe, playing only against Scotland, in which he scored one try and set up another for Daniel Leo.^[16] In October 2006 he was named French championship player of the year at the LNR Nuit du Rugby, on the strength of being the top try-scorer in the French league for two seasons.^[17]

On 9 April 2007 Caucaunibuca was given a three-month ban after testing positive for cannabis following an Agen Top 14 match against Montauban on 24 March.^[18] Although the ban did not rule him out of the 2007 Rugby World Cup, he was not selected for the tournament.^[18]

He was released by Agen in February 2008 after a series of injuries. He returned to Fiji and played for his local side, Tailevu, in the Digicel Cup, before rejoining Agen for the 2008–09 season.^[19] On 13 June 2009 he said he would no longer make himself available for Fiji,^[20] before reversing that position in March 2010 with a stated aim of playing at the 2011 Rugby World Cup.^[21]

In the 2009–10 Rugby Pro D2 season he helped Agen win promotion to the Top 14.^[4] In October 2010 he joined Toulouse as a medical joker, covering the injured centre Yann David.^[4] Later in 2010 he was selected in the French Barbarians squad.

In March 2013 he rejoined Northland,^[22] and was named in the Classic All Blacks side to play Fiji in their centenary match that June.^[23]

In late 2014 Caucaunibuca left second-division Agen and moved to Sri Lanka to pursue a place in Fiji's sevens squad for the 2016 Olympics. The move was short-lived, and he returned to his village in Fiji.^[24] In 2019, in the documentary Oceans Apart, he said he had been living in poverty since finishing with Agen, having spent most of his earnings on alcohol and on helping family and friends.^[3][25]

Fiji sevens

• Commonwealth Games rugby sevens: silver medal, 2002

Individual

• Top 14 top try-scorer: 2005–06^[17]
• French championship player of the year (LNR Nuit du Rugby): 2006^[17]

• List of sportspeople sanctioned for doping offences