Joseva Tamani: Fiji Test forward who scored in Otago's first Shield win over Canterbury in 77 years

Joseva Tamani came late to rugby and has been making up for lost time ever since. The forward from Ovalau, who barely played the game at high school, was part of the Fijian Drua's first Super Rugby squad, scored in their first ever win over the Crusaders, played two Tests for Fiji in 2023 and, on 20 September 2025, scored a try for Otago in Christchurch as they won the Ranfurly Shield from Canterbury for the first time in 77 years. At 29 he is heading to Dunedin full time: the Highlanders have signed him for 2027 and 2028.

From Ovalau

Tamani was born on 2 April 1997 in Levuka, on the island of Ovalau, according to Wikipedia, and the Fiji Times has reported that he comes from the village of Vagadaci on the same island. He went to Delana Methodist High School.

Rugby was not his first sport. In a February 2023 profile the Fiji Times reported that he showed little interest in the game after primary school and played in his high school's hockey team. Only after leaving school did he join a rugby club on Ovalau. A few tournaments later he had a contract to play in Australia.

Australian apprenticeship

That contract took him into the Melbourne Rebels' development system. Wikipedia records two appearances for the Melbourne Rising in the 2019 National Rugby Championship, and the Fiji Times wrote that some in Fiji predicted he could be the next Seru Uru, the Fijian forward playing for the Queensland Reds.

He then moved to Sydney's Shute Shield with the Hunter Wildfires, where Wikipedia credits him with six games and four tries in 2021, and the Fiji Times reported that the New South Wales Waratahs approached him that year. Instead he went home.

The Drua's first squad

In 2022 the Fijian Drua joined Super Rugby Pacific, and Tamani was part of their first ever squad. He was in the third batch of players the Drua signed, alongside Manasa Saulo, Samuela Tawake and Kitione Salawa, on a three-year contract. all.rugby lists eight appearances and one try for him in that first season.

The second season was different. "Training has been going very well for us," he told the Fiji Times before it began in February 2023, when the paper described him as a blindside flanker who could also play lock, with "the speed of a winger".

On 11 March 2023 the Drua played the defending champions, the Crusaders, in Lautoka. The Crusaders had beaten them 61-3 in their previous meeting in 2022. On the hour, Tamani gathered a long pass from halfback Frank Lomani outside the Crusaders' 22, shrugged off Corey Kellow and crashed over in the right-hand corner to give the Drua a 17-12 lead. The Crusaders fought back to lead 24-22, but replacement first five Kemu Valetini kicked a penalty after the hooter, and the Drua won 25-24, their first win over the Crusaders.

His last home game for the Drua that season was another landmark. On 3 June 2023 the Drua beat the Queensland Reds 41-17 in Suva to reach the Super Rugby Pacific playoffs in only their second season. Tamani scored the final try in the 76th minute, pouncing on a Reds mistake near his own 10-metre line and racing about 60 metres to score, according to the Fiji Times. Planet Rugby noted that the result put the Drua into the quarter-finals for the first time in their history. all.rugby credits him with 11 appearances and three tries in 2023, and Wikipedia says he was the Drua's top try-scoring forward that season.

A Fiji Test player

Those performances earned Tamani a call-up from Fiji coach Simon Raiwalui for the 2023 Pacific Nations Cup, part of Fiji's build-up to the World Cup in France. He made his Test debut off the bench on 29 July 2023 against Samoa at Apia Park in Apia, coming on in the 57th minute of a 33-19 win, one of five Fijians to debut that day. His second Test followed on 5 August 2023 against Japan in Tokyo, where he came off the bench in the 53rd minute and Fiji won 35-12.

Those are his two Test caps, and he did not score a Test try.

France, and back

At the end of the 2023 season Tamani left the Drua for France, joining Colomiers in the Pro D2. all.rugby records nine appearances and two tries for the club, Wikipedia 15 games and three tries.

In July 2024 the Drua announced he was coming back. Chief executive Mark Evans said he would bolster their loose forward stocks for the 2025 season, and on 15 February 2025 he was named in the back row for the season opener against the ACT Brumbies in Suva, his first Drua game since 2023.

Otago and the Shield

In 2025 Tamani also joined Otago for the NPC. He started at lock on his debut, against Southland in Invercargill on 2 August 2025, and Otago won 24-15. His first Otago try came eight days later against Hawke's Bay in Dunedin on 10 August 2025, although Otago lost 27-21.

Then came the challenge in Christchurch. On 20 September 2025 Otago played Canterbury for the Ranfurly Shield. New Zealand Rugby's round wrap set the scene: Otago had gone 77 years without a Shield win over Canterbury. Canterbury led early, but Tamani finished off a long pass from halfback Dylan Pledger for one of Otago's first-half tries. Canterbury still led 24-14 at half-time and were ten points clear on the hour, before Lucas Casey's solo try and a lineout drive finished by replacement hooker Liam Coltman turned it around. Cameron Millar's conversion of Coltman's try won it 38-36.

Otago defended the Shield against North Harbour in Dunedin on 27 September 2025, winning 41-26, reached the NPC final and held the Shield through the summer, before Canterbury won it back 19-15 in Dunedin on 9 August 2026. Otago lost the 2025 final 36-28 to Canterbury in Christchurch on 25 October 2025.

When Otago's 2026 squad was announced, the NPC's provincial.rugby site called him a "powerful Fijian lock" returning for another season. He scored again on 1 October 2026, in a 45-42 win over Auckland in Dunedin.

Style and standing

Tamani has spent his career moving between two jobs. all.rugby's records show 18 starts at lock and 21 in the back row, most of them at blindside. "Playing in two positions, at blindside flanker and lock, has been tough," he told the Fiji Sun in June 2026, reflecting on a demanding season. The Fiji Sun described him as recognised for his "agility, pace and ball-winning ability", and his two most famous tries for the Drua, the Lomani pass finished in the corner against the Crusaders and the 60-metre run against the Reds, show the pace the Fiji Times wrote about in 2023.

Where he is now

On 4 August 2026 FBC News reported that Tamani had signed a two-year contract with the Highlanders, to the end of the 2028 season. When the Highlanders named their 2027 squad on 28 October 2026, the club highlighted him, Shannon Frizell and Argentina lock Tomás Lavanini as the international experience joining the group, and listed him among a loose forward group that includes Lucas Casey, Nikora Broughton, Sean Withy, Te Kamaka Howden, Veveni Lasaqa and Will Stodart. Head coach Jamie Joseph said the recruits added "quality and experience" around a young squad. The Highlanders open the 2027 season against the Drua, Tamani's old team, in Fiji on 13 February 2027.

Career at a glance

Drua and Otago appearance figures are from all.rugby. Otago tries are from the Wikipedia NPC season match records (two in 2025, one in 2026); all.rugby lists one. Test details are from the Wikipedia match records of the 2023 Pacific Nations Cup.