Seru played rugby union from his early school days at Ratu Kadavulevu School in Fiji, and first played provincial rugby for Lautoka in 1998-99 while studying at the then Lautoka Teachers College before moving on to Suva in 2000.
He made his Sevens debut for Fiji in Dubai in 1998. He played at both U21 and U23 level for Fiji before making his test debut in May 2000 against Japan in Tokyo during the Epson Cup tournament. He played for Fiji in Hong Kong at the turn of the millennium, often referring back to the Hong Kong Sevens as one of his favourite rugby memories.
In 2001, Seru took up a three-year degree course at the University of Otago New Zealand and the following year played seven games for Otago in the National Provincial Championship before gaining a Super 12 contract with Highlanders for whom he played a dozen games over the 2003 and 2004 season.
He toured New Zealand with Fiji in 2002, and the same year played Wales at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. He featured for the Fiji Sevens side at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. Also in 2004 he played in all three games for the Pacific Islanders, scoring a try against New Zealand in Albany.
Shortly after this Seru signed for Leicester Tigers in England and subsequently Leeds Carnegie and Top 14 Stade Rochelais in France.
Seru started all four of Fiji’s pool games in the 2003 Rugby World Cup, and played in all of Fiji’s 2007 World Cup matches.
In 2013, Seru spent time coaching college rugby at Lindenwood University in Missouri, prior to moving to Hong Kong, joining Discovery Bay Pirates as head coach and player in 2014, and continuing to study for his MSc in Sports Marketing and Business Management through the University of Central Lancashire.
The Seru Rabeni Fund has been setup to continue Rabeni’s community work in Fiji and will initially be managed by the DB Pirates aims to continue his good work. Monies raised in the funds name will go to building on what Seru started, including the construction of a school, the development of a scholarship programme for young players in bid to have change their lives forever.
Seru Rabeni Playing Career
Fiji: 2000-2011 – 30 caps
Fiji Sevens: 1998-2002 – 13 competitions
Highlanders: 2003-2004 – 11 appearances
Leicester: 2004-2009 – 63 appearances
La Rochelle: 2010-2012 41 appearances
DB Pirates: 2014-2015 – 41 appearances
Seru Rabeni Memorial Game
Date: 16 April, 2016
Venue: HK Football Club
Tickets: Free
Schedule:
14.00 Gates Open
15.00-15.15 Opening and Tribute to Seru Rabeni (including Minute’s Silence and Video Tribute)
15.20-16.25 DB Pirates vs HK Barbarians (social men’s game)
16.35-17.20 DB Pirates vs HK Barbarians (ladies 10s’ game)
17.30-18.55 Pirate Islanders vs HK Barbarians (men’s “performance” game)
19.00-19.10 Closing
