Where it all started....

Fly My Winged Child

Through the eyes of a Flying Fijian mum

Ben in his favourite red boots

Ben was 3 when I first saw him running around his grandparent’s home imitating his idol, the world's legendary Fiji 7’s player Waisale Serevi.

“Evi, Evi look at me mummy!” Ben would shout whilst whizzing through our lounge room in his favourite red boots.  As he stepped between seats and a coffee table, I would cringe hoping he wouldn’t break my mother’s vases or table lamps.

Anything that looked remotely like a ball he would kick or throw and call me to join him. Ben’s love for rugby was infectious but never in a million years did I dream that I was raising a future Flying Fijian.

My dad - back row 3rd from right
1st XV Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester

You could say rugby runs in our blood. My dad, Ratu Peni Volavola played rugby at school and then at the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester, England.

Both my grandfathers also played the sport but it was my maternal grandfather, the late Ratu Isikeli Daveta, who became a Flying Fijian in 1932.  He played Wing.  My beloved paternal grandfather the late Ratu Livai Volavola was just as good a rugby player who also could have been a Flying Fijian but his career path took him into medicine and later politics.



Given the history of rugby players in our family, only time would tell what lay ahead for the future male members of our family. Could there possibly be more rugby talent coming through the ranks?

It wasn't until 1976 that my uncle the late Ratu Livai Volavola (named after my paternal grandfather) became a Flying Fijian.  He played centre. And in July 2015 Ben made his debut as a Flying Fijian. 

It would however be remiss of me to not acknowledge my stepfather, the late Mr Emori Naqova, who loved the sport. Although he only played Rugby at school, he was responsible for fueling Ben's love for the game. 

2nd Row from the back and 4th from the left
The late Ratu Isikeli Daveta - The 1932 Flying Fijians

Most Saturday mornings, my stepfather (we called him Uncle Emori) would take Ben along with him to the Suva Grammar grounds for a hit out. Armed with his golf gear and a rugby ball for Ben, Uncle Emori would get Ben to practice his kicking while he practiced his golf swing. What a pair they made!

Ben’s practice sessions started getting pretty serious when my stepdad decided to get a set of rugby poles built for Ben.  At a Telecom Fiji family day where my stepdad was the Managing Director, he would get the guys from the workshop to set up these poles so Ben could practice his goal kicking. We had no idea at the time that my stepdad was sowing something of great significance into this child. Ben was 3 years old and years later it was to be his
kicking that would play a huge part in his rugby.

The first rugby match that Ben played was for the Veiuto Primary School’s U9’s against Marist Primary at the Dudley High School grounds in Toorak, Suva. I remember it so well as if it were yesterday.  It was pouring rain and the grounds were wet and muddy but the game was to go on. The boys played with no boots and no mouthguards, but this was grassroot Fiji rugby at its best – instilling belief that boots and mouthguards do not make you a rugby star. It’s all about heart!

Boots are expensive in Fiji and to buy boots for kids at this age was seen back then as more of an expense rather than an investment.  It wasn’t until we moved to Australia and Ben had to try out for the U10’s Seaforth Raiders Rugby team here in Sydney, in 2001, that he got to play in his first rugby boots and mouthguard. 

For a Fiji boy who was not use to wearing boots or a mouthguard, it took some getting use to. I remember his first day wearing his new boots and mouthguard. The boots felt weird and he couldn’t breathe with that piece of rubber in his mouth. My heart would go out to him because I realised all he wanted to do was just to play the game without all the fuss. But emphasising the importance of wearing the mouthguard and that wearing boots for his game was mandatory, finally made sense to him.

I used to worry about not having enough money to buy his boots especially knowing this was going to be an ongoing expense. But I had to change my thinking from looking at this as another expense to thinking this was now going to be part of my investment into his future. I realised very quickly that when you change your mindset to what can be, your actions will follow suit.

Waisale Serevi (Evi) and Ben in Canada

Ben finally met his childhood hero Evi during their 2015 Pacific Nations World Cup campaign in Canada.  He had first seen Evi on TV during one of the Rugby 7’s games. Uncle Emori would have Ben sit with him while the game was on and together they would get lost in their own little rugby world.

Unfortunately, my stepfather passed away in 1994, Ben was 3 years and 10 months old. He never got to see the skills that he had sown into Ben’s life come to fruition and I never got the chance to say thank you. Rest in Peace and in Love Uncle Emori. Thank you.

Next Chapter: Our First Rugby Tour