Rugby’s Way Out For Nasamila

For Lekima Vereyali Nasami­la, rugby is about making a better life for him and his family.

At 18, Nasamila made a choice to drop out of school to pursue his rugby career.

This came after his father, Penaia was laid off work from the Fiji Po­lice Force.

“When my dad was laid off from work, I knew that everything will not be like before,” Nasamila said.

“I didn’t know what to do and so I decided to just drop out of school and try to play rugby.

“I promised my parents that I would work hard and focus on my career.”

Nasamila was brought up in Na­delei Village in Vatukoula while his father served for 18 years at in the Police Force.

He attended Tavua College, Ta­vua District Secondary School and then opted to go to Ratu Navula College to further his rugby.

In 2016, Nasamila went to Lelean Memorial School Rugby Academy ran by Seremaia Bai.

The Urata, Cakaudrove native was drafted in the Fiji Under-20 squad in 2017, and represented Fiji in the Junior Rugby World Cup qualification tournament in Aus­tralia and helped the team qualify for the Junior Rugby World Cup in Italy.

“The only thing that changes my life was when my father was terminated from the Fiji Police Force,” he said.

“Sometimes I feel like I wanted to quit but I thank God everyday for his protection during those hard times

“I had to find a way to lift the mo­rale of my family again and rugby was the only way out.”

Nasamila attributes his rugby success to former Flying Fijians pivot Seremaia Bai and aims to play Super Rugby in future.

“I would like to thank Bai and Rugby Academy Fiji for giving me this opportunity to continue my rugby career after I left school and also for giving me the opportunity to come to Japan.”

Nasamila currently studies sports science at Tokai University while also being part of the its rugby academy.

Edited by Osea Bola

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