{"id":22705,"date":"2025-04-15T18:45:12","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T18:45:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/22705\/"},"modified":"2025-04-15T18:45:12","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T18:45:12","slug":"kalaveti-ravouvou-interview-bristol-bears-fijian-cowboy-on-his-incredible-rise-from-being-spotted-while-playing-for-a-prison-officer-team-to-taking-the-premiership-by-storm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/22705\/","title":{"rendered":"KALAVETI RAVOUVOU INTERVIEW: Bristol Bears’ Fijian cowboy on his incredible rise from being spotted while playing for a prison officer team to taking the Premiership by storm"},"content":{"rendered":"

Growing up in the province of Nadroga-Navosa, one of eight on Viti Levu which is Fiji\u2019s largest island, Kalaveti Ravouvou spent most of his childhood as a real-life cowboy.<\/p>\n

The Premiership\u2019s joint-top try scorer led a simple life, working on the family farm before qualifying as a prison officer. Rugby was just a pastime.<\/p>\n

At that stage, the idea of making a living from professional sport seemed fanciful to Ravouvou. But that is exactly what he has gone on to do with Bristol, 10,000 miles from home.<\/p>\n

\u2018I lived quite far from the beach for my childhood \u2013 in the countryside,\u2019 Ravouvou \u2013 who has been in red-hot form for title hopefuls Bears this season \u2013 tells MailSport.<\/p>\n

\u2018I spent a lot of time on the family farm, always in my village and always riding horses. Every afternoon after school I would ride the horses to herd the cows and goats.<\/p>\n

\u2018I rode from the age of five. It\u2019s my main memory of my childhood in Fiji. We would ride every day. There were about 80 goats on the farm and around 30 cattle.<\/p>\n

\"Gallagher <\/p>\n

Gallagher Premiership’s leading try scorer Kalaveti Ravouvou has enjoyed a meteoric rise\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The Bristol Bears star grew up as a real-life cowboy in the Fijian province of Nadroga-Navosa<\/p>\n

\u2018Now I live in Portishead, 15 minutes from the Bristol training ground. It\u2019s nice and quiet there. All my neighbours are old. They live their own lives.<\/p>\n

\u2018Some of them watch rugby, so they know who I am. Sometimes they see me and say: \u201cHow was the match?\u201d or \u201cHow was training?\u201d. They are Bristol fans.<\/p>\n

\u2018The horse riding days are over for now! Every week off or holiday I get, I want to go back home and ride some horses, but it\u2019s quite far to go! I will go in the off season.\u2019<\/p>\n

Like many Pacific Island players, Ravouvou has a fascinating story.<\/p>\n

Telling it for the first time, the extent of the 26-year-old\u2019s extraordinary journey to English club and international rugby quickly becomes apparent.<\/p>\n

\u2018I started at Tovolea rugby club,\u2019 he says, speaking in broken English.<\/p>\n

\u2018Every village had their own club and we\u2019d play provincial matches. I was playing for my club team back in the village and for my province \u2013 Nadroga \u2013 at Under-20 level.<\/p>\n

\u2018I was scouted from there. The coach recruited me as a prison officer and I played for the warden\u2019s team. I had to train as a prison officer for three months.<\/p>\n

\"At <\/p>\n

At that stage, the idea of becoming a professional rugby player seemed a pipe dream\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"But <\/p>\n

But Ravouvou is the most-talked about star in the Premiership thanks to his impressive form<\/p>\n

\u2018I passed out in 2018 and worked for three years as a prison officer until I joined the Fijian Drua. Our routine in the prison was on shifts \u2013 from seven in the morning until five, five till 12, or from 12 to seven. There are quite a few prisons in Fiji, but I worked in the Naboro complex.\u2019<\/p>\n

Naboro\u2019s maximum security prison is a stone\u2019s throw from the Fijian capital of Suva. There, Ravouvou would keep an eye on inmates. The aim was to avoid trouble.<\/p>\n

But life surrounded by barbed wire was not his calling. In Fiji, rugby is a religion. Like almost the entire island, Ravouvou had run and passed with a ball as soon as he was able.<\/p>\n

\u2018Some of the boys at the prison watched me play and told me I had to join the Fiji sevens team. That was my target from a young age,\u2019 he says. \u2018In Fiji, we always watch the sevens.\u2019<\/p>\n

Ravouvou\u2019s big break came when he was spotted playing for the prison officer side by his now agent Richard Emms.<\/p>\n

Covid-19 disrupted an agreed move to French rugby with Carcassonne, but the pandemic meant he eventually joined Super Rugby side Drua in his homeland. Ravouvou quickly became their first-choice centre, won international honours and travelled to the 2023 World Cup. From there, Bristol came calling.<\/p>\n

He is one of a number of diamonds in the rough found by Emms, who also plucked Theo McFarland, of Saracens, and new Wales cap Ellis Mee from obscurity.<\/p>\n

After a tricky start at Ashton Gate, not helped by injury and language difficulties, Ravouvou has exploded to prominence this season, leading Premiership defences a merry dance.<\/p>\n

\"Ravouvou \"He <\/p>\n

The 26-year-old has told his story for the first time in an exclusive interview with Mail Sport<\/p>\n

He tops the league\u2019s try scoring charts with eight alongside Sale\u2019s Tom Roebuck. His pace, power and uniquely Fijian skillset fit perfectly into the madcap attacking style Bristol produce.<\/p>\n

\u2018I don\u2019t kick,\u2019 Ravouvou says matter of factly. \u2018I\u2019m enjoying playing with Bristol. The boys all have the same attacking mindset. We all want to play and not to kick!<\/p>\n

\u2018That\u2019s what I\u2019m used to from Fiji \u2013 the offloading game and keeping the ball alive. It\u2019s a bit like playing for Fiji.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘When I came to Bristol at first, I came by myself. It was very difficult, a complete change. My partner Liti came for six months to visit, but she went back in December.<\/p>\n

\u2018At first, speaking English was difficult and I struggled to understand the other players. The boys helped me so much. They tell me where to stand during the game! After, they come and laugh. If I don\u2019t know the move or understand the call, I listen and go where I\u2019m told.\u2019<\/p>\n

Ravouvou\u2019s English has improved to such an extent that he conducts this interview in his second language. He lost his father at a young age and still sends part of his Bears salary back home to his mother. The family remains in daily contact.<\/p>\n

The presence of two more Fijians in Bill Mata and Siva Naulago at Bristol has also helped Ravouvou \u2013 whose breakthrough campaign may yet end with the Premiership crown \u2013 settle in. Pat Lam\u2019s side are the league\u2019s great entertainers. Bristol sit second behind leaders Bath. The Bears look good for a play-off spot at the very least ahead of Sunday\u2019s clash with Leicester.<\/p>\n

\u2018I drink Kava with Bill and Siva after games so it can help our bodies relax and we can get a good sleep,\u2019 says Ravouvou. Kava is Fiji’s national drink, a non-alcoholic beverage made from the ground roots of a plant native to the island. Ravouvou continues: \u2018You can\u2019t find it in the UK. Some people sell it here, but you have to bring it over from Fiji.<\/p>\n

\u2018When I went home in the last off season, I bought 10 kilos back for the boys. Now, we\u2019ve got none left! I\u2019m really happy here, that\u2019s why I\u2019ve signed a new contract.<\/p>\n

\u2018We\u2019re doing great and can definitely make the play-offs.\u2019<\/p>\n

Bristol fans will hope that Ravouvou\u2019s form won\u2019t drop off now the supplies of his favourite drink have run dry. As we talk, he sips from a can of Rubicon, perhaps in a bid to somehow reconnect with the exotic fruits of his homeland. Ravouvou was part of the Fiji team which beat England at Twickenham in the summer of 2023, but he was frustrated not to feature in that year\u2019s World Cup. Now, he is a Bristol regular and looking to add to his six Fiji caps.<\/p>\n

Bristol director of rugby Lam said of Ravouvou: \u2018When he arrived, it was tough for him because he missed pre-season as he was at the World Cup and wasn\u2019t used there.<\/p>\n

\u2018English was not his first language when he joined, but he\u2019s always shouting or smiling now and he\u2019s worked very hard on his communication. He\u2019s physically strong and gets on really well with the boys. He\u2019s starting to feel comfortable here now.<\/p>\n

\u2018He can play either centre role or on the wing. He\u2019s enjoying it here and is well liked. That\u2019s why he\u2019s signed on for more.<\/p>\n

\u2018I tell him to think like Gabs Ibitoye. I asked him what he thought that meant and he responded: \u201cGo anywhere\u201d. That\u2019s what I want from him, regardless of the number on his back \u2013 to get lots of touches and be physical. We\u2019re very excited by him.\u2019<\/p>\n

After roaming the fields of Fiji on horseback in his early days, Ravouvou is now running free in a Bristol shirt and you get the feeling there is still plenty more to come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Growing up in the province of Nadroga-Navosa, one of eight on Viti Levu which is Fiji\u2019s largest island,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22706,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8818],"tags":[381,748,92,393,4884,4204,93,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-22705","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bristol","8":"tag-bristol","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-dailymail","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-rugbyunion","14":"tag-sport","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114343465873938145","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22705"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22705\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}