Samuela Vatuniveivuke Kerevi (born 27 September 1993) is a professional rugby union player who currently plays as a centre for the Urayasu D-Rocks in the Japan Rugby League One. His usual position is centre. Born in Fiji, he has represented the Australia national team at international level.
Early life Samuela Kerevi was born in Viseisei, Fiji. He moved with his family to Australia at aged 4. His father, Nimilote Kerevi, is a former Fiji international soccer player. His brother Josua Kerevi has also played representative rugby.
Kerevi attended Brisbane State High School, and represented Queensland at the Australian Schools Rugby Championships in 2011.
Kerevi obtained Australian citizenship in August 2016.
Career In 2012, Samu Kerevi (his ref name was Musashi) played Premier Rugby for GPS Old Boys in Brisbane. He was selected alongside his brother Josua in the Fiji Under-20 team for the 2012 IRB Junior World Championship in South Africa. In the opening pool match against Wales, he scored the first try of the tournament and he followed that up with a double against Samoa.
Kerevi was a member of the ARU's National Academy in 2012 and 2013.
In July 2013, he signed an extended player squad contract with the Queensland Reds for the 2014 Super Rugby season.
Following the 2019 Rugby World Cup, Kerevi signed with Japanese club Suntory Sungoliath in the Top League.
Following the Conclusion of the 2021 season, Kerevi was nominated for the 2021 World Rugby Men's 15s Player of the Year award, with France scrum-half Antoine Dupont ultimately winning the award.
International career Born in Fiji, Kerevi was eligible to represent both Australia and Fiji at international level.
In 2013, Kerevi was selected for Australia U20 to play in the 2013 IRB Junior World Championship in France, but was unable to take part due to a shoulder injury.
In June 2016, Kerevi was included in the 33-man Australia squad for the England tour series. He made his Test debut at inside centre against England at Lang Park, Brisbane. Australia lost the match, and eventually lost the series 0–3.
Throughout 2017–2019, Kerevi continued to play regularly for the Australian team and featured in their squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
In 2021, Kerevi was a member of the Australian rugby seven's squad at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The team finished third in their pool round and lost to Fiji 19–0 in the quarterfinal.
After a two-year absence from international rugby, Kerevi was announced in Australia's 2021 Rugby Championship squad ahead of their second Test against New Zealand in Perth. It was his first international cap since the 2019 Rugby World Cup, and was one of several overseas-based Australian players selected under coach Dave Rennie which saw the overseas-based player restriction relaxed.
Kerevi was named in Australia's 2023 Rugby World Cup squad, one of four overseas-based players selected in the team. He played in all four of their pool matches. In Australia's final pool stage fixture against Portugal, Kerevi was sin-binned for a high fend, becoming the second consecutive Rugby World Cup in which he had been sanctioned for the same offence (the first against Wales at the 2019 Rugby World Cup).
Career statistics Club
+ Statistics by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueDivisionAppsTriesPoints 2014 Super Rugby 4 1 5 Brisbane City 2014 National Rugby Championship 7 4 20 2015 Super Rugby 14 6 30 Brisbane City 2015 National Rugby Championship 9 8 40 2016 Super Rugby 13 5 25 2017 13 5 25 Total 26 10 50 Brisbane City 2017 National Rugby Championship 2 2 10 2018 Super Rugby 14 4 20 2019 15 5 25 Total 29 9 45 Suntory Sungoliath 2020 Top League 5 2 10 2021 8 8 40 2022 Japan Rugby League One, Div. 1 14 4 20 2022–23 2 0 0 Total 29 14 70 Urayasu D-Rocks 2023–24 Japan Rugby League One, Div. 2 10 3 15 2024–25 Japan Rugby League One, Div. 1 16 14 70 2025–26 16 5 25 2026–27 colspan=3 Total 42 22 110 Career total 162 76 380
International
+ Statistics by team and yearTeamYearStatisticAppsTriesPoints Australia 2016 7 3 15 2017 10 2 10 2018 7 0 0 2019 9 1 5 2021 5 2 10 2022 3 1 5 2023 8 1 5 2024 1 0 0 Total 50 10 50
International tries + List of international tries scored by Samu Kerevi Opponent Location Competition Date Result 1 Perth Rectangular Stadium, Perth 2016 Rugby Championship 17 September 201636–20 2 Twickenham Stadium, London (England) 8 October 2016 33–21 3 4 International Stadium, Yokohama 2017 Autumn Internationals 4 November 2017 63–30 5 6 Sapporo Dome, Sapporo 2019 Rugby World Cup 21 September 201939–21 7 North Queensland Stadium, Townsville 2021 Rugby Championship 25 September 202127–8 8 Robina Stadium, Gold Coast 2 October 202132–17 9 Lang Park, Brisbane 2022 England tour of Australia 9 July 202217–25 10 Western Sydney Stadium, Parramatta 2023 Rugby Championship 15 July 202331–34
References
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