Caucaunibuca
Rupeni Caucaunibuca was a great of Fijian rugby who was known for his pace and try scoring.
Rupeni Caucaunibuca Bio
Rupeni Caucaunibuca was a giant of Fijian rugby who was a devastatingly quick winger.As a keen rugby player in his youth, Rupeni Caucaunibuca began to catch the eye of domestic and national selectors at a young age. By 2001, he had already represented Fiji in Rugby Sevens and Northland. Rupeni Caucaunibuca was inducted into the RugbyPass Hall of Fame in 2021.
In 2003, Rupeni Caucaunibuca rose to international attention thanks to his performances for Fiji at the 2003 Rugby World Cup. Against Scotland and France in particular, he stole the show.
Although Rupeni Caucaunibuca was regarded as one of the “fastest and most flamboyant players in international rugby”, he suffered from discipline issues and injuries that prevented him from representing his domestic sides and national team regularly. However, despite this, former England centre Mike Tindall described Rupeni Caucaunibuca as “the best player I have ever played against”.
Despite his disciplinary and injury issues, Rupeni Caucaunibuca still represented a number of elite teams during his career. As well as playing for his country at both Sevens and XVs, he also played for the Blues in Super Rugby, and Agen and Toulouse in the French Top 14. During this time, he achieved a number of personal accolades. He was named as France’s Player of the Year in 2006 and was the top try scorer in the Top 14 in the same season.
After leaving Agen in 2014, Rupeni Caucaunibuca briefly played in Sri Lanka. However, he has since returned to village life in Fiji. Sadly, he’s suffered from money problems since his retirement. Subsequently, he has spoken out to help ensure others learn from his mistakes.