'Never too old to debut': Wallaby star's brother becomes the hero for the Fijian Drua
Rob Valetini boasts a stack of Wallabies caps and is one of rugby's hottest prospects, but even he had to settle for the role of little brother on Saturday night.
Before his Brumbies claimed a third straight win, brother Kemu had produced a magical sporting moment, slotting a penalty goal after the siren to earn Fijian Drua a huge upset win against the Crusaders in his Super Rugby Pacific debut.
In memorable scenes, the packed crowd in Lautoka was in raptures celebrating their first win in Fiji since entering the competition last year.
For 28-year-old Kemu, it was the culmination of a lengthy journey to earn his debut, but also his chance to start a new chapter in his domestic competition.
Brother Rob, 24, admitted it was a special family moment, seeing Kemu shine in their heritage nation, in front of family and on a ground their father had played on in the past.
"He'll definitely be the favourite child now winning in Fiji … I'm just really happy for the family," Rob said.
"I was stoked just to see him get on. He was only on for about five minutes and got all the glory at the end there.
"I was definitely really happy for him. I called the parents after the game too and they were real happy.
"He's been on a long journey as well, through a lot of injuries and he's been around the same rugby scenes around the world."
Kemu spent a season at the Melbourne Rebels development side before heading for a stint in Spain, but earned his Drua contract via impressive form last season at Shute Shield side Manly.
Rob said the moment was huge for Fijian rugby and admitted he dreaded having to travel there and tackle the Drua at some point in the future.
"You're never too old to debut," he said. "He (Kemu) got picked up just to go and train with the Drua, only on a training contract that was supposed to end in January.
"Kids growing up in Fiji now have a pathway to go through instead of going overseas to France or Japan, and the Drua is only going to get stronger with all the kids wanting to play there.
"It's probably the last place you want to play, Fiji, in the heat, in front of that crowd.
"It's always going to be a tough ask to go and play there. Lucky we don't have them there (this season)."
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wel the crusaders were beaten by a queensland reds side that hadnt beaten them at home since 1999 and queensland reds partied like it was 1999
Go to commentsThink it was a great defensive performance by Northampton. They didn't have stage fright in the first half, the Nienaber defense smothered them. They limited Leinster to 15-3 in the first half. It could have been over by then. A great try from Leinster in the start of the second half looked to have sealed it. But Byrne missed another conversion. Northampton started trying little kicks behind the Leinster wingers. Leinster messed one and Smith brilliantly made the conversion. Leinster decided to tighten the game after Byrne missed a straight forward penalty. A few errors got NH into the 22 and they scored and converted with a few minutes left. Another brilliant steal from Lawes saw NH have a final attack which was turned over by Conan. A classic semi final. World record attendance of 82,300. Leinsters 3 week preparation warranted for this one.
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