Samu Kerevi: Back home the name Kerevi meant bank robberies and assaults – I aim to change that

If the military plane that facilitated his exit from the Pacific island had flown to New Zealand, as planned, and not been diverted to Brisbane then Kerevi might now be an All Black.

Now one of the best players in the world, Kerevi is proudly rescuing his family name - one that in Fiji was besmirched by bank robbers.

“I had a pretty tough upbringing,” Kerevi, 28, said. “My mum had us pre-wedlock, pretty young. It was a pretty difficult situation with my father’s family. They weren’t in the best area and there was a lot of criminal activity.

“We were always shielded away from a lot of it. My grandfather was a pastor for a church and he brought change into that community. A lot of my older cousins are in jail, my uncles have been in jail for 15-plus years. They’re all out now and they’ve changed their lives.

“I’ve got a cousin who has just come out from a 14-year stint and I want to be there when he comes home. I speak to my cousins and they tell me about the things that used to go on. I couldn’t believe it. It’s like things out of a movie.

“When I was six or seven they took me out of it. A lot of criminal activities going on: bank robberies, assaults, things like that at banks and in our house. My cousins were part of it. Talking to my uncles who have been in jail for many years, then come out and change their life, it’s pretty special.”

As Kerevi’s mother had to give her son up, he was raised by his grandparents. His grandfather worked for the Commonwealth and was posted to the Solomon Islands, so the seven-year-old Samu went too.

“The [military] coup happened in 2000 so we had to flee,” he said. “We were actually on the way to New Zealand but the plane stopped in Australia and I got citizenship - not citizenship but a bridging visa for asylum seekers - and we ended up staying here.

“It was a military cargo plane that picked us up. When we got to Australia they had everything waiting - clothes for us through the Salvation Army. I didn’t really know what was going on.”

It is no wonder, then, that Brisbane, where Saturday’s second Test between Australia and England will be played, is so special to Kerevi. Aptly, he made his debut in the city in the first Test of the 2016 series against England.

He grew up there, turning from the boy who arrived without a word of English to the 17-stone centre defences fear so much. Kerevi does not think he sits on top of the world, but many do.

“I personally don’t think I’m one of the best No 12s at the moment. I still give it to Damian de Allende,” he said of the South African centre. “David Havili [the All Black] has an awesome skillset and is getting up there. [Owen] Farrell has been playing a lot at No 10 but when he shifts to No 12 he brings that physicality.

“I want to grow my game towards his skillset of passing and ball-playing. There’s so much more that I need to grow in my game.”

Kerevi is back from honing his game in Japan, playing for Suntory Sungoliath (where Eddie Jones is director of rugby) and having improved his fitness in particular. In Birmingham this summer he will feature for his country’s sevens team at the Commonwealth Games. In Japan he also spent more time than ever with his two brothers Josua and Jone, players at Toyota Shokki Shuttles. The trio are helping spread the Kerevi name far and wide.

“Our name on my father’s side wasn’t very good,” he said. “I go home and my uncles would sit me down and say how thankful they are to me and my brothers who have changed that.

“It’s really special. I know and understand the hardships that my family went through. Being able to give back, through positivity, financially or just being there in Fiji, fills a massive hole in my heart. We’re a big Christian family and God’s been the centrepiece for our lives. Being a rugby player is nice but when I finish I want to be known as a good human before anything else.

“Playing for the Wallabies is my way of giving back to a country that gave so much to me.”

One day Kerevi wants a back tattoo that will tell this incredible story - it is just as well he is enormous, with so many details to depict.

-The Times

Originally published as Samu Kerevi: Back home the name Kerevi meant bank robberies and assaults – I aim to change that