Viliame Mata

Viliame Sevaka Mata (born 22 October 1991) is a Fijian rugby union player.[1] He is currently playing for Scotland based Guinness Pro14 side Edinburgh Rugby. He made his debut for Fiji at the 2014 Wellington Sevens.

Viliame Mata
Birth nameViliame Sevaka Mata
Date of birth (1991-10-22) 22 October 1991
Place of birthNauluvatau, Nakelo, Tailevu, Fiji
Height1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Weight116 kg (256 lb)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker, Lock, Number 8
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016– Edinburgh Rugby 59 (65)
Correct as of 23 June 2019
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2017– Fiji 13 (15)
Correct as of 7 September 2019
National sevens team(s)
Years Team Comps
2013–2016 Fiji 7's 10 (60)
Medal record
Men's rugby sevens
Representing  Fiji
Olympic Games
2016 Rio de JaneiroTeam competition

Since joining Edinburgh Rugby, Mata has been affectionately known as "Big Bill" Mata[2] owing to his power and ability to break through defences.

Career

Mata was born and raised in Nauluvatau, a small village in Nakelo, Tailevu[3] and was selected by Ben Ryan to represent the Fiji sevens team to the 2014 Wellington Sevens as a replacement for Pio Tuwai.[4]

Mata is a former professional rugby league footballer who went on to play for champion local 7's side, Davetalevu.[5] He studied at Suva Grammar School before moving to Ratu Kadavulevu School.[6]

Mata made the final Fiji squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics.[7]

In July 2016, Mata signed for Pro12 side, Edinburgh for two-years and he joined the side after helping Fiji win Gold at the Olympics [8] but his visa-expired a year later as he was not capped internationally for Fiji and visas for player not capped by Kolpak countries were only for a year, he had to return to Fiji and get capped by the Fiji 15's team. He made his test debut against Australia on June 10 playing off the bench. He played 3 more tests for Fiji off the bench which allowed him to lodge a visa application to extend his visa to Scotland. He returned to Scotland in September 2017 and became a regular starter for the team.

In December 2017, he signed an extension to stay at Edinburgh Rugby until 2020.[9] At the end of the 2018/19 Pro14 season, Mata was named the Guinness PRO14 the Players’ Player of the Season.

References
  1. World Rugby Sevens Series (4 December 2015). "FIJI 7S Squads". Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  2. http://www.edinburghrugby.org/news/18/04/13/interview-whats-mata
  3. "Big Bill Ready For Olympics". fijisun.com.fj. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  4. "Mata jets out to Wellington at this hour". Fiji One. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  5. "Mata's 7s series debut – Fiji Times Online". fijitimes.com. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  6. Maciu Malo. "Dream comes true". Fiji Times. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  7. Limited, Communications Fiji (17 July 2016). "Fiji 7s team to Rio Olympics announced". fijivillage.com. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  8. "Viliame Mata: Edinburgh Rugby sign Fiji Olympic gold medallist". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  9. "Edinburgh forwards Luke Crosbie & Viliame Mata commit to club". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2017-12-31.
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