[from left] KALIONE NASOKO, BADEN KERR, TEVITA IKANIVERE, ONISI RATAVE

Rugby was never the top pick for Swire Shipping Fijian Drua hooker Tevita Ikanivere.

After high school, Ikanivere was focused on completing his Bachelor in Engineering and Electronics at the University of the South Pacific.

When the opportunity to join the Fiji Rugby Union High Performance Unit came along, the 22-year-old welcomed it with open arms.

Now that his Drua career is taking off, Ikanivere says his studies are still a priority.

“It was never my intention to play rugby out of secondary schools but then God had a different plan for me and fortunately in semester two of my first year in university, Master Bill called me up, there was a shortage of hookers, and from there everything just went well and I and here today.”

For someone who played in only provincial level rugby, the Ono-I-Lau lad has learnt a lot to help him become a better hooker.

“It is about your structure and your system and it starts from the ground up, how you place your legs and how you tighten your core especially when you are tired in the game and you are out of breath and you have to focus on it again.”

Ikanivere will come off the bench today when the Drua faces the Highlanders at 4.35pm at ANZ Stadium in Suva.

You can catch the live action of the match on FBC Sports with the live commentaries on Radio Fiji One and Bula FM.