| Date of birth | 5 April 1984 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of birth | Lautoka, Fiji | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Weight | 96 kg (15 st 2 lb) | ||
| Rugby union career | |||
| Playing career | |||
| Position | Wing, Center, Fullback | ||
| National team(s) | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 2007 - | Fiji | 20 | (80) |
| Sevens national teams | |||
| Years | Club / team | Comps | |
| 2007 - 2008 | Fiji | ||
Vereniki Goneva (born 5 April 1984 in Lautoka, Fiji) is a Fijian rugby footballer. He plays as a centre or wing.
He was first spotted by the Fiji sevens coach, Waisale Serevi playing as a wing for Nadi in the Digicel Cup competition and he was impressed by his workrate and included him in the 2007-08 IRB Sevens World Series and he made his debut in the 2nd leg, George Sevens where Fiji lost in the cup final to New Zealand. In the same year he played in the Colonial Cup for the Western Crusaders team but lost in the finals to Coastal Stallions. He was selected into the Fiji Barbarians team for the 2007 Pacific Rugby Cup though the team wasn't able to make the semis, his impressive runs continued and after making his debut for the Fiji sevens team, he jetted off to Rotherham Titans. After a short stint, he came back and rejoined the sevens team. He co-captained the team in the Wellington and San Diego leg. after the 2009 season, he joined the Fiji 15's team for the 2009 IRB Pacific Nations Cup where he was instrumental in the win against Samoa, coming off the bench and scoring the match-winning try and against Japan where he set up the match-winning try to Number 8, Netani Talei. He later got an offer which he took, to play in the French Pro D2 competition for US Colomiers. He was included in the 30-member Fiji squad for the 2009 Autumn Internationals
Goneva was included in the Fiji team for the 2011 IRB Pacific Nations Cup. After a successful outing, he was selected in the 22 to play the All Blacks in Dunedin. He came off the bench and scored an outstanding individual try. He was later selected to play against Tonga in the Punjas Rugby series. He was selected into the Fiji team to the 2011 Rugby World Cup and he made his world cup debut on the right wing for Fiji against Namibia. He scored 4 tries and won the Man of the Match award as well.[1]
He started the next game against South Africa but failed to emulate the form he showed against Namibia. His performance was ridiculed as a few days prior to the match, he had declared that he would 'be a marked man' against the African powerhouse.
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