General · EdgepediaOctober 21, 20264 min read

Jiuta Wainiqolo

Wainiqolo's birthplace is recorded differently across sources: Olympedia lists Namara, Ba¹, while a Fiji Times profile says he was born in Suva and brought up in Navua⁴, and other profiles place his home at Namara, Vuda.

Key fact	Detail
Full name / born	Jiuta Naqoli Wainiqolo, born 1999 in Fiji¹
Position	Wing²
Tokyo tries	5, Fiji's top try scorer; scored the first try of the men's competition after 19 seconds³
Physical profile	187 cm, 97 kg²
Clubs	Toulon (2021–22 to 2024–25, Challenge Cup winner 2022–23); Lyon OU from 2025–26 on a contract to Summer 2028²
Background	Youth footballer with Fiji U20 trials; switched to rugby at Ratu Kadavulevu School in 2017⁴^•⁵

Early life and switch from football to rugby

Football came first. He attended Vashist Muni Primary School and Vashist Muni College, played football for both, and represented the college at the Fiji Secondary Schools IDC (inter-district competition) in 2014 and 2015⁴. Playing for the Navua youth team, his best memory was scoring six goals against Nasinu youth, and he made the trials for the Fiji U20 football team, coached by Ronil Lal, though he missed the national team's trip to New Caledonia⁴.

His father then decided he should switch to rugby, and on the advice of his elder brother Kolinio Nadegi he joined Ratu Kadavulevu School (RKS) in 2017, one of Fiji's leading rugby schools, where he enrolled to study carpentry and played in the school's under-18 team⁴^•⁵^•⁶. He has said the switch was easy because he already had the fitness and skills⁴. His idols, he told a French interviewer in 2021, were Semi Radradra and the footballer Karim Benzema⁶.

His early rugby career moved quickly through several codes and teams: he won a national school championship in rugby league, spent time with the Cronulla Sharks Academy in Australia in 2019, and played for Nabua Rugby Club, Suva Rugby Club, and Fiji Drua in 2019⁵^•⁶.

Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold

At the time of selection he had yet to play on the World Rugby Sevens Series, though he had won the World Rugby U20 Trophy in 2018 in fifteens and played for Fiji against the Barbarians in November 2019⁷.

His tournament began at record speed: he scored the first try of the Tokyo 2020 men's rugby sevens competition after 19 seconds, against Japan³. He scored a try in each of Fiji's opening matches⁸, and added one more in the 33–7 pool win over Great Britain⁹. He finished with five tries, Fiji's top scorer at the Games and tied for second in the tournament try standings behind Argentina's Marcos Moneta, who scored six¹⁰. His 19-second opening try remained the benchmark two Olympic cycles later: the first try of the Paris 2024 men's competition, after two minutes and 20 seconds, was described as the second-quickest behind it¹¹.

Club career in France

With Toulon he won the Challenge Cup (the European club competition now known as the EPCR Challenge Cup) in 2022–23²^•¹², and in 2024–25 he scored 11 tries in 19 matches across all competitions².

His first Lyon season was his most productive in French league play: 20 Top 14 matches with 18 tries and 90 points².

Fiji fifteen-a-side career

Alongside sevens, Wainiqolo has played fifteen-a-side international rugby for Fiji. His record includes the World Rugby U20 Trophy title in 2018 and a match against the Barbarians in November 2019⁷, and he has continued to appear for the Flying Fijians in autumn and summer test windows while based in France².

References

Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Rugby and other football codes › Rugby union players and personnel

Initially written Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 25, 2026

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