SEASONED Fijian winger and Olympic gold medallist Aminiasi Tuimaba surprised rugby fans when his name appeared in the finalised 13-member squad list yesterday for the Bordeaux 7s, which kicked off last night in France.
The speedster dons the white national jumper once more while being part of the French Pro D2 club Béziers, where he has been since 2024.
Prior to that, he was with the French Top 14 team Pau from 2020 until 2024.
It may be the trump card Osea Kolinisau has laid on the table for the opposing teams Fiji will face at the tournament.
Tuimaba, who hails from Yasawa-i-Rara in the Yasawa Group but raised on Vio Island, first stunned audiences when he featured for the Fiji 7s team in the 2018/19 season of the HSBC SVNS, being part of a new wave of sevens players maintaining a competitive edge following Fiji’s historic gold medal win at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Under the tutelage of then head coach Gareth Baber, he soared to new heights with his athleticism on the field and being a force of speed and try scoring.
In his first season, he was the top try scorer of the Fiji sevens team and became the second top try scorer in the series in the 2018/19 season.
Adding to his accolades were his representation of Fiji under rugby 7s to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, held in 2021 due to the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He was part of Baber’s squad that brought home Fiji’s second-ever Olympic gold medal, which was a victory of great significance and liberation at a time when the nation grappled with rising numbers of COVID-19 cases and economic uncertainty amongst many Fijians who looked to Tuimaba and his winning teammates for a ray of hope during that time.
Fiji faced Kenya last night, Great Britain this morning and will face South Africa at 9.06pm.
