PHILIP Blade Daniel Baselala could become the next big name in the Swire Shipping Fijian Drua side.
Why? Because the 18-year-old has a bit of stardust in his name to add to the explosiveness of his game.
In 2004, when Baselala was born to his parents Elenoa and Mosese, they didn’t know what to name him. The movie “Blade” was a box office hit and starred Wesley Snipes. So captivated by the movie that Mosese decided to give Philip the name.
Not to be outdone, Elenoa was a die-hard Crusaders fan and at the time the Canterbury franchise was on top of its game, led by the mercurial Daniel Carter, hence, the name Danny for Philip.
Well, it seems the fame has rubbed off on the young man and it is something he has learnt to grow with. He played in the Suva development side as a 16-year-old and two years later was in the Fiji Under20s, playing alongside his elder brother Benji.
Now 18, he is the youngest recruit in the Drua team for the Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific competition.
Early days and secrecy
For mum Elenoa, she saw in him his drive to be the best, even though he was stopped (several times from participating in rugby. But she had no idea of how much passion Philip had for the game. “O koya dua na gone dau vakamosiulu (He was someone who would make my head sore,”) the former journalist said.
“He started his rugby with St Agnes Primary School as a Year 3 student and first played in the under-9 team.
“We put him in at Suva Sangam School and did not allow him to play rugby. But he would follow his elder brother Benji to play rugby with the Gospel Primary School team.
“His brother would catch the bus home while Philip was left to walk home after training. They did this in secrecy.
“One day, on my way back from work, I saw him running on the road towards Nabua.”
Impressing parents
Philip said after his parents knew of his love affair with sport, he knew he had to put up a good performance in order to get their blessings.
But rugby wasn’t his first love
“It wasn’t the sport I played at first because I had a love for soccer and then I found out there was a rugby competition so I thought I’d give it a try. Since I started, I seemed to like it so I kept on playing.
“They didn’t want me to play because I get injured a lot and my school work was not that good. Fifteen minutes before the classes would end I would run home, change, and run from home to Gospel and run back home.
“So until the day they found out, it was a Saturday, that I was packing my boots and they asked me where I was going. I knew I was caught, so I told them I was going to play rugby.
“My parents came to watch me and in my mind I knew I had to impress them and make them proud if I wanted to continue playing.”
His late babysitter
One person Philip misses the most is his late nanny, Ji Biau. Related by blood, she was one person that Philip knew could keep his secret in the early days. They would wake up early on Saturdays and attend kaji rugby matches together.
“She has passed away and I used to call her Na more than my mum.
“She took care of me and we were like best friends. She was very supportive of my rugby and was kind of over protective — when I would get hurt she would scold the person that me injured me.
“She was someone that I miss a lot and it would be great for her to see where I’ve reached in my rugby career.”
Suva development Playing with the big boys is nothing new for Philip. He refers to the Bible to get him through men twice his size — in age and physique.
“It was a good experience because it was a feeder team to the senior side. I didn’t care about the age – I was constantly reminded about the story of in the Bible of David and Goliath; if David can do it, so can I.
“It was a good test, physically I was not of their size but I could overcome that with mental toughness.”
Drua family
While away from his family, Philip has a lot of support to lean on. Within his new Drua family stands one particular person — Simi Kuruvoli. Philip was brought in to replace the Flying Fijians halfback in the Drua group and he was in for a surprise.
“When I came in I didn’t know we were related until he told me.
“He has helped me a lot in my training and has showed me some tips.
“I looked up to him as a young player and to come into the Drua makeup as a replacement for him is an honour.”
Today, his biggest supporter is his mum, someone who knew early on that her son was destined for greatness — just like his namesakes. “I hope I’ve made you proud mum even though I don’t listen to you some times.
“I just hope she’s proud of me.
