How Semi Radradra’s incredible deed at the Parramatta Eels could punish the Wallabies

Working as a miner when he was 18, Semi Radradra was long odds to be leading Fiji at a World Cup. But dig into his past and it’s clear he was always destined for the big stage.

Semi Radradra has done an incredible amount to push Fijian rugby. Picture: Getty Images

Bemused Parramatta Eels players couldn’t figure out why Semi Radradra was collecting old furniture from the front of local homes.

Former Eels captain Tim Mannah recalls: “He used to hire a Budget Direct ute, and go around during council pick-ups when people would leave their TV cabinets and couches out, and he’d go and pick it up.

“He’d take it back to ‘The Bronx’, a pretty rough building where all the young players used to live next to the club. There were four garages underneath that building that were empty, and he’d spend all year filling them up with any furniture he could find on the side of the road.”

Semi Radradra has made a huge impact on Fijian rugby. Picture: Getty Images

Then, just before Christmas, it became clear what Radradra was doing.

“He hired a shipping container and shipped it all back to his village, he did that a couple of years in a row,” Mannah said.

“And then, the year we moved out of the old Parramatta Stadium, they gave him all the old gym equipment. He put it all in a shipping container and sent it back to his village. He was a hero to them.”

Fast forward seven years, and that good deed could ultimately punish the Wallabies in their crucial Rugby World Cup match on Monday morning (1.45am AEST).

Because unbeknown to Radradra at the time, that same gym equipment would be used by his Flying Fijian teammates in preparation for the World Cup, during a camp that coach Simon Raiwalui organised to bring his players closer than ever before.

Instead of staying at their usual five-star hotels, Raiwalaui took the squad to Radradra’s old village of Welagi, in the Taveuni Island, where they built their fitness base to spring an upset on the Wallabies.

Radradra will be a key figure in those plans, as one of rugby’s most dangerous attacking weapons.

NRL fans will remember Radradra’s incredible long-range tries and unique finishing abilities. The 31-year-old has combined that with seven years of learning in professional rugby to become a creative destructive force in the midfield.

He starred at the previous World Cup in 2019 on the wing and outside centre, but now plays as creator and linebreaker at inside centre, and Fiji will direct their attack at Australia through this channel.

While he may have dropped the final pass in Fiji’s heartbreaking 32-26 loss to Wales in their opening game, Radradra ran for a game-high 160 metres, set up a try and was a constant threat.

Radradra played a starring role in the opening game of the World Cup for Fiji. Picture: AFP Images

After leaving the Eels in 2017, Radradra joined French club Toulon, then signed two of the richest deals in rugby with three-year stints at Bordeaux and then English club Bristol Bears worth around $1 million annually.

After this World Cup he’ll remain in France after signing a new deal with Lyon.

These are far heights from his humble beginnings working as a miner while plying his trade in rugby sevens.

“I was 18 years old when I made my debut for the Fiji 7s,” Radradra recently told The Rugby Pod.

“I played three legs, Gold Coast, Dubai and South Africa, and then we came back and had two weeks off before Las Vegas. I received a phone call from my agent and asked if I wanted to play rugby league.

“Back then, rugby league in Fiji wasn’t big. I said I had no idea of the rules and stuff. But he said, ‘I’ll pay for your flight, fly tomorrow and have a look at the contract. If you are happy you stay for two years. If you are not happy, I can pay for your flight back’.

“The next day I caught the flight from Fiji to Australia and no one knew, not even my family. We went to Parramatta Eels and I asked where is the page, where is the money? That was all that mattered. I went to the last page, saw the offer and said, ‘OK, I’ll stay’. I signed straight away. I was working in the mines in Fiji, it was very risky and you were paid s*** money. So that offer, I couldn’t resist.”

Radradra has a reputation as one of the hardest trainers in the game. Picture: Troy Snookc

Mannah said Radradra never relied on his natural talent.

“We still talk often, we stay in touch, I got to play with over 100 players and he is one of my favourite players to play with,” Mannah said.

“The thing about him, they say you learn about someone behind closed doors and that’s him, his work ethic is unbelievable. On a day off from training, when we’re at the movies or a coffee shop, he’d be training on his own, doing sprints at the park, he’d be at the gym pumping music on his own just training.

“And he wasn’t a player at the end of his career trying to get one last contract, he had all his footy in front of him, it was great to see that type of work ethic.

“I couldn’t respect him more as an athlete.

“He was one of the few wingers I played with, or watched, who could create something out of nothing.

“It would look like there was nothing on and he’d find a way to make a line break or score a try when he had no reason to do it. I think he’s always had that ability to create, I think we’re just seeing a bit more of it now that he’s in the centres in rugby.

“But when it comes to athletic ability, I don’t see too many people who can do what he does –everything you want athletically, he’s got.”

Radradra has been playing with European club the Bristol Bears. Picture: AFP Images

Bristol coach Pat Lam recently said Radradra’s legacy at the club would live on.

“You just have to look at how many tries he has gifted to other players, just handed a player the ball, that sums up who he is,” Lam said.

“He is very selfless and he spends a lot of time with players, young players. He is always thinking about how he makes people around him better, whether that is on or off the field.

“That is his legacy and that is something we have been privileged to experience. It is always going to be a privilege that Semi Radradra is always going to be a Bristol Bear.

“He has had a big impact here and the resilience and the toughness of the guy – the medics will tell you during the injuries that he had, a lot of players would not have made it but because of who he is and his professionalism, that is why he has made it back.”

Originally published as How Semi Radradra’s incredible deed at the Parramatta Eels could punish the Wallabies