Savenaca Aria

Savenaca Aria was a Fijian rugby union footballer and later a coach. He played as a centre.

Career

As player, he played as outside centre for Nawaka. In 1986 he played for Queensland in the Australian Provincial Championship.
Aria's first cap for Fiji was during a match against Wales, at Suva, on May 31, 1986. Despite not being part of the 1987 Rugby World Cup roster, four years later, he was called in the 1991 Rugby World Cup roster, playing two matches in the tournament. His last international cap was during a match against Japan, at Ehime, on May 8, 1994. In addition, he also played rugby sevens for the Nadi provincial team in the Fijian championship and played in the Hong Kong Sevens in 1987 and 1988 for the Fiji national team.

Aria coached Nadi in 2001 and, a year later, in 2002, he became the assistant coach for Sanivalati Laulau in the Fiji national rugby union team. In 2009, he led the Fiji Police team, which won the Ratu Sukuna Cup, defeating the Fiji Armed Forces team. He had the rank of police sergeant. He also served as President of the Blue Football Club, which participated in the championship of the Nadi province.

Aria died on 15 March 2020, at his residence in Nawaka, Nadi, aged 55. He is survived by his wife Seru, five children and four grandchildren