FORMER Marist Brothers High School and Fiji U18 prop Kaliopasi Uluilakepa described his inclusion into the New Zealand Under 20 as his best sporting achievement to date.
Uluilakepa played for New Zealand at the World Rugby U20 team Championships in 2018 and lately Hurricanes has signed him on a Player Replacement Contract.
He attended school in Fiji where he represented Marist at the Deans as well as the Coke Games where he once held the record in the shot put event.
We chat with the rugby player on what makes him tick.
Age 20
Lives in Wellington, New Zealand
Describe yourself I’m Tongan born in New Zealand, lived in Fiji for three years and also have a part Samoan connection through my Father.
Favourite food: lu sipi (taro leaves and lamb) and puaka tunu (pig on spit)
Favourite drink otai
Favourite book Charlie and the chocolate factory.
Mentor since childhood Father and mother
Favourite quote The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up!
Person you would love to meet Mike Tyson
Advice to young children Have a purpose in life. Live your purpose and enjoy every moment of it.
Tell us something that might surprise us about you? I weighed in at 80kg when I was in Year 5! I am obsessed… with rugby as it is the only thing I know and my guitar – I love my music. I can’t live without… a purpose I am proud of… my achievements and everything I’ve gone through to get to this point. Wish I could change… nothing I look back and… I reflect on how lucky I am for having this opportunity given to me through hard work and being able to play the sport I love which is rugby. I relax by… listening to music having time with girlfriend and family. I am excited about… seeing my family and friends. Playing rugby with a bunch of great boys and enjoying every moment of my life. Biggest weakness… heights List of favourite things… sing, play guitar, hike, hit the gym, go bowling and swim at the beach. Opinion on the state of the world… we are slowly losing our traditional culture especially in the Pacific Islands. The main word is respect which is sadly lacking among the younger generation. Normally children will listen to their parents and elders but now they talk back to their parents and talk smart to their elders which is so disrespectful and disgusting. Mother always told me… always pray and work towards your goals in life My attitude to exercise… I never miss a day of training except for Sunday which means I’m always willing to train and be a better person mentally, physically and emotionally. My relationship with my body… not sure what this means but I’d say I’m getting fitter and leaner and feel confident about myself.
What inspires you to be the person that you are? My family is my main inspiration which has driven me this far to be the person I am today.
What would you describe as your passion in life and how are you going about realising it? Putting a smile on people’s faces and meeting new people and learning about their stories. I join youth groups and even in our rugby team we have a prayer group where we share with each other our struggles through life and what we like and dislike. Also I like to have a laugh and have fun with everyone around me.
What would you consider to be the most memorable in your career? I have quite a few but the most memorable one is representing New Zealand at the U20 World Cup tournament in France in 2018.
What has been the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome? Food was my biggest challenge because eating healthy is expensive, like it really is. Compared to takeaways it was real easy to just buy cheap fish and chips etc, and there was no effort to cook. So I guess being lazy and just not being disciplined put me in a very bad state last year. I was unfit, too fat, slow and short cut my training.
If you could whisper advice to your younger self, what would it be? Nothing good comes easy, you gotta sacrifice a lot in order to become a professional athlete.
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