IT is a great sadness to the Nabua rugby community and Nabua settlement community to receive the news of the death of a legendary figure and an icon to the Nabua Rugby Club and the Nabua Rugby Old Boys Association, Viliame Baleiwai Rauluni.
He is fondly known to us and those who closely knew him as ‘Bill.’
He was from Qarani Village, Gau, Lomaiviti. He was married to Mere Masina Qereqeretabua of Ono, Kadavu. They have five daughters; Sanimere, Merevesi, Vani, Marama, Kalesi and a son named after Vili’s late elder brother Meli. Vili resided with his family at Lot 17 Naisilivata Road, Nadera. He was 53 years old when he died last week.
Everyone knew Bill and the Rauluni brothers, especially if you grew up in the late 1980s and the early 90s as they are known among the giants of the Nabua rugby, Suva and the Fiji rugby circuit.
He was one of the Queen Victoria School bred who was groomed at Vulinitu to do wonders in the rugby paddock as was earlier benchmarked by Master Kemueli Rabonu in the 1982 Escott Shield Challenge and later mesmerised by their junior old boy, the famous Elemaca ‘Marcho’ Ravulo, who with his fellow teaching colleague Master Kemu, captained a successful Island Zone team respectively (Koro and Cakaudrove -i -wai )
Bill Raluni joined the famous sevens team that Fiji has ever produced that has now left a global legacy of “6-1 defence sevens rugby pattern”. Some people have mentioned that pattern should have been copyrighted by Nabua rugby as it was created in the same ground that has now been a frightening scenery to many of our youngsters who are reluctantly to join the Nabua training, as the ground is not safe to their high standard. This expectation could hypothetically reflected from their continuous watching of the Super 15 games that better ground, they will perform better.
Well that same half soggy and half harden BAT Nabua Rugby ground, Bill and his famous Raluni siblings sweated and bruised to set a name for them, their family, the Nabua rugby, the Nabua community and the country as a whole. Each one of us who grew up in this neighbourhood acknowledged the great deed they have made. The result of their deed made the word “Nabua” itself favourable and also made others wants to be associated with that name, just as others wants to associate with any global rugby franchise or superstars. Whilst the older generation mesmerise Bruce Lee and Chen Sing during their younger days, the youth who grew up on this era enthrall themselves as Waisale Serevi, Vesi Raluni , Vili Raluni or Tomasi Cama.
This was in the midst of a situation where the Nabua was adopting itself in a culture of Bronx neighborhood where criminals are hero to some youngsters due to their presumed toughness and ruthless approach. This faulty theory was nullified when Bill with his fellow Nabua gladiators took every prominent sevens title that has to be offered in Fiji in the early 90’s and dominate the seven’s rugby games in the country for three years. (1989-91) and they reciprocated it in their three years domination of the Hong Kong in 1990-93)
It was an experience for those of us who lived in Nabua at that period of being directly linked to the famous brand of “Nabua Rugby” just as someone being genetically linked to a famous person. The feeling was surreal and you just need to be there to feel this extraordinary atmosphere that we felt in the community at that time.
Their sacrifice gave us an opportunity to prove that there was goodness and greatness in this distracted community whose cultural and religion activities is prominent in the expenses of the well-being of their youths and youngsters. There was an increase of our youngster incarcerated in our rehabilitation centers in this period and there was tendency of peer pressure of heroism in the faulty idea that going to prison identifies one as tough and mean which is a great attributes of survival in a tough neighbourhood like Nabua.
Alternatively, Bill Raluni and his sibiling with their nephew Waisale Serevi, their cousin Tomasi Cama, their kinsmen Tuvui and the late Ilaitia Lalai with Alivereti Dere, Pauliasi Tabulutu, Joe Rabele, Eroni Vaivaitamana, Mosese “Jack Dolly” Vosanibola, Lote Tamani, the late Inia “Fedo” Tabilai, Filimoni Seru and others with the late Kitione Vesikula’s leadership provided a model of opportunity for our youngesters to take the rugby ball rather than a weapon as a tools of trade and a window of opportunity to the world.
Anyone could remember the ground was crowded with our people who joined these icons as they pry their new trade with the guidance of these senior players and coach Ratu Vesikula . The crime rate statistics dropped and our new recruits sleep early during the night as the training was tough and hard that draws every inch of strength from them. There was less space of delinquency as discipline started to crawl in the minds of our youths and that self-control carried them through in the field of opportunity that was avail to them in their later life. Many of them are now successful in their life and will agree with me of their indebt to the role Bill Raluni played to their life and their family.
In 2009, we again visited a similar situation where morale was down, crime rate was spiraling and our youth incarcerated statistics abruptly increased dramatically. For many of us who grew up on the period of Nabua rugby greatness did not hesitate that a similar antidote was manufactured in this community to meet such challenge. We just reminded ourselves of the famous biblical verse Ecclesiastes 1:9 “History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.”
There was no other person that we can seek guidance than Bill Raluni himself. We explain to him our plan and he totally supported the idea. So there it begins again the Nabua Rugby Club organising its monthly inter-lane sevens competition and from that sevens , a formidable team was formed and Bill Raluni in usual caring figure for our youngsters, will come every afternoon when he is available to check on the boys. In that year too, we witnessed the decreasing of our youngsters meddling with the law with many joining our rank in the club XV weekly competition and by 2011, Nabua was reaching the semi-finalist position after more than decade.
In 2014, Bill Raluni in his usual caring father figure and his truly Maroon to the bone approach, was involved greatly in the formation of the Nabua Rugby Old Boys and Supporters Association with him taking the helm as the first chairman of the club and from that position he was elected as the vice-chairman of the Nabua Rugby Club until his passing away.
He was abundant in compassion even in the cover of his toughness mood to us and he was always greatly involved in many of our activities from the visiting of our former players who are incapacitated with illness as this is a “must do” activity to him.
A great achievement for him to the community is his leadership of the hosting of the Prime Minister’s first visit to the Nabua community for the opening of the first Nabua Rugby Community Gym. It was mammoth task where resources and logistic was required with a club that still heavily depending on the kindness and support of the community. Bill Raluni rallied the Rugby Old Boys Association and on the day of the opening on August 2014, the expectation, the logistic requirements and the financial commitment was fully met with the association fully utilising Bill’s network and his figurehead influence in the community.
We were in the second phase, where he was leading the association and the club in the preparations of initial work that was completed three months ago of the plan to rebuilt our Community hall. Every Thursday evening prior to the completion of this huge task we will be meeting at Master Saimoni Raikuna residence to plan and delegate task that were required for this project. It is a great pleasure that this task was completed after many weeks of late nights and the plan is now under the PM’s office.
For the past three months, the association was fully participating in many of its obligatory activities such as the visiting to Jonacani” Pajona, the condolence gathering to the family of these former Nabua rugby players Rt Savenaca Ravoka, Filimoni “Felix” Baleitavuki, and Simione Serukalou. Bill Raluni in his usual servitude approach to the Nabua community was personally managing and leading these gatherings and just few weeks back he was leading our gathering precedent funeral gathering of Baleitavuki and Serukalou.
When I received the message of his passing away, I immediately recalled in our in-deep discussion in one of our meetings when he quietly called me and requested to recap to him a story that I shared to him privately.
It is a true account and the story begins when an atheist Jewish multi-millionaire was dinning in one of the exclusive eatery in New York with his close friend who was a Pastor.
“He was complaining and whining bitterly to the pastor of the manner Christian can provide salvation even in the last breath of a wicked and ruthless person. He still cannot comprehend the magnitude of such grace as from his perspective a wicked deserves a punishment in proportion to their wickedness. Then the Pastor saw how the diners paid their bills when the waitress came with their bill to their table and soon replied his atheist friend.
“If a diner from a nearby table offered us to pay our bills, if we agreed, the diner will fully pay what we have eaten and what we intend to have as a desert but if we refuse the fellow diner’s offer, we have to fully pay everything we have used in this table, similarly Jesus Christ has paid ALL our sins on the cross and he has offered that for the alternative of our sins, if we refuse to receive him as our Lord and God, than we will receive all the wrath and punishment of the sins that we have committed without reservation or discounts. “
There is no other word that befits this gentleman who has served our community and our nation in the field of his rugby and his professional career.
There is a vacuum in the leadership of the Nabua rugby and the Nabua Old Boys Association on the departure of this great man who has served us with distinction. And there is a space in our heart that has to fill the memory of a nobleman who was an inspiration when our community was in depression. A colleague and a brother to us all, a father figure to many of our players who have the opportunity to listen to his words of wisdom and encouragement, a friend who loves to enjoy the companionship of others with humor, a leadership figure in our community who enjoys the loyalty and the admiration of his servant-hood.
We are privileged to know you, and to enjoy and grace your companionship that lift many of us who do not have the opportunity to enjoy the company of a superstar as being with the star motivates many of us to make stardom move in their lives.
It reminds us of the famous quote that “Be with the winners so you can be a winner”.
Thank you Lord for giving us Bill Raluni as one of our own and have made us winners in our lives. We asked you Lord to continue to replicate that winner’s mind-set and attitude to our youngsters who will don the Nabua rugby jersey in future and also increase the capacity of our service to replicate what your son Viliame Raluni has portrayed to us. We pray Lord that you will welcome him back in your glory and May your peace be with the family in their moments of grieving.
