FEW can ever say they conceived the vision of an ambitious and remarkable rugby career in their minds or homes and then achieve it, however for former Flying Fijian great Vilimoni Delasau, he did just that.
Now 48 years old and a luminary in Fiji’s rugby circles for his brilliance on the field, he had devised a plan with a sole goal: to don the coveted jersey.
And he put the plan into action by taking out an entire year to devote himself to training.
“I spent one year training, nobody knew. Nobody trusted me, nobody had faith in me but I had faith in myself,” Delasau told The Fiji Times last night.
He also told his parents he would not work or do anything besides preparing himself for the chance to be a Fiji 7s player and a Flying Fijian.
It was an ambitious venture, and he looked up to the brilliance of sevens maestro Waisale Serevi as testimony of what faith and concentration towards refining his form and agility could induce.
“Like any other Fijian child growing up in the islands and some overseas, our dream is to play in the Flying Fijians, and I couldn’t explain the feeling; it was just different,” he said.
He would go on to make his first Fiji appearance against the United States on Friday, June 30, 2000, where they won 37-21.
Delasau’s stint with the Flying Fijians at the Rugby World Cup included the 2003 and 2007 editions, however he added he would have made the 1999 team had it not been for a sevens tournament in Savusavu at the time, of which he was disciplined for and dropped.
While this may have been a setback for him then, it would be a mere blemish in the track record of achievements he garnered, such as being a record holder of four records in both 7s and 15s.
Meanwhile, Delasau is now the Director of Rugby for the Ba Rugby Union.
