FIJI'S veteran has enjoyed some great moments but this tour is likely to be his swansong, writes Iain Morrison
LOOK UP "Rauluni" and "Fiji" on the internet and you get quite a list to choose from, at least seven at the last count and that doesn't include those who have just turned out for the island at sevens. Either Rauluni is the Fijian equivalent of "Smit
h" or that's one heck of a family.
"No, no," explains Fiji and Saracens scrum-half Mosese Rauluni, "we are all related. We all come from one village, the same one as Severi who is a first cousin of mine. My dad was Taito Rauluni and both he and most of his brothers played for the country and then me and my brother Jacob both played."
This explanation is delivered in a strong Australian accent punctuated by chortling laughter which peppers the little man's conversation at regular intervals.
Rauluni is a living history of modern Fijian rugby, a walking talking reference book, an anthology of the professional era from an island perspective. Like Woody Allen's Zelig character, Rauluni is omnipresent, he has been at every major event in Fiji's recent rugby history. Oh, and he even played for Dundee HSFP, of which more later.
The Fijian was there to witness the dawn of professionalism, first capped in 1996 against the New Zealand Maoris. Rauluni was ever-present at the 1999 World Cup, playing in each of Fiji's four matches. He was at RWC'03 when Scotland beat the islanders by two miserable points in Sydney and he came off the bench when the Pacific Islanders hammered Italy 25-10 last year. Rauluni led Fiji on that famous day at RWC'07 when they beat Wales in one of the greatest matches ever witnessed and he captained them one week later when they gave South Africa the mother and father of all frights in the quarter-final.
With the scores tied at 20-20 late in the game, Fijian lock Kele Rawaqa had a great chance to give his side the lead with their third try when JP Pieterson made the most important tackle of his life to save the day. The Boks went on to book their spot in the semis but the Fijians had shown just what they could achieve given more than their usual one week of half-arsed preparation.
"I still think about that match," muses Rauluni, "and go over the 'what ifs' because we bombed a few chances. It was good to see South Africa go through to win the final but the hardest part was that we hadn't got any sleep the night before the match because all the French fans in Marseille were celebrating their victory over the All Blacks. The noise was unbelievable, no-one could sleep.
"The difference between 2003 when we lost to Scotland and 2007 when we beat Wales was preparation. Ahead of the last World Cup we had two or three months together back in Fiji. We were in squad for the Pacific Nations Cup, then we had some trial matches. After we travelled to France we had some more trials against some French clubs, not ones that anyone has heard of, but it meant we were together.
"Everyone talks about Fiji moving to the next level but we won't be a force until we get together more often. Imagine if we were together for a good month before this tour!" Andy Robinson probably shares a similar dream. "Still, there is no point complaining about it," Rauluni continues. "We've just got to get on with it."
Now aged 34 and nearing the end of his career – "I've made two international comebacks already" (cue more laughter) – Rauluni was first capped 13 years ago and is still going strong. Well, he is still going. A serious knee injury has kept him sidelined for most of the past ten months during which time he has only had a few run-outs with Saracens' back-up team. He has yet to appear for their full side this season and this tour looks like his international swansong.
Things might have turned out very differently. His father was enticed over from Fiji to play club rugby in Queensland when Mosese was exactly a year old. Junior grew up in Brisbane and turned out for the Australia U19 side while attending the world famous Australian Institute of Sport alongside such luminaries as George Gregan, Joe Roth, Toutai Kefu and Steve Larkham. Was his original wish to pull on the yellow Wallaby shirt?
"Yes, that was my original dream," he admits, "but it just didn't happen. There were a lot of great scrum-halves around at the time and I opted for Fiji at an early age. I've never regretted my decision because I get to go back home (home is always Fiji, never Brisbane] and see the family. When we tour we all start together on Fiji so it's good even if we don't get paid a lot. I do think about it sometimes, if perhaps I had waited six years or so might I have got a Wallaby cap? But I'm happy with my decision and I've had a great 13 years."
At one time Rauluni might even have thrown his lot in with Scotland. Dundee had an exchange programme with Easts Club in Brisbane where both Jacob and Mosese Rauluni were playing and the brothers, separately, spent a few months playing club rugby in Scotland in the late 1990s. Jacob was immediately dubbed "Blue" because he'd never experienced cold like it.
"I loved Dundee," says Mosese "but everyone else thought it was a hole. I played just for a few months with players like Rob Wainwright, Shaun Longstaff, Gav Scott and Stu Campbell. I was even training with the Caley Reds at the time but there was some problem about me having to have been in Scotland three years to qualify for a contract so things didn't work out. It's a shame, it would have got me into Britain much earlier."
While the amiable Rauluni may meet up with some long-lost Dundonian friends this week, he has others things to occupy his mind as a young group of Fijians look to the old guard for leadership. Just as Andy Robinson has named twin skippers for the autumn series, so too may Fiji have split the responsibility.
"Well, I have heard that I am to be joint captain of the touring party along with Seremaia Bai from Clermont but I got that from the Fijian boys and they make anything up!" Rauluni explains while laughing, naturally, at his own joke.
