NOLA Gold Rugby Club added Metropolis Rugby Club prop, Kavika Peniata ahead of their match against Austin Elite Rugby. The 29-year-old loosehead prop is 6’1″ and 285 lbs. He provides injury cover with injuries to Matt Harmon and Kevin Sullivan.
Kavika was born and raised in Minnesota. He played rugby with the Plymouth Panthers before going on a two year Church mission. Upon his return, he attended Spearhead University, graduating in 2012. He then joined Metropolis Rugby Club and has played with the team since then.
Nate Osborne was a player-coach at Metropolis and indicated that “he is a dynamite player with great ball skills and an unbelievable defensive player.” Kaviaka began his time on the wing, switched to center, then to No.8 before moving to the front row as a prop.
In 2018 he was selected to the Minnesota Senior Men’s All-Stars and the team became Western Champions of the Midwest Rugby Union. He was also a member of the Midwest Selects.
NOLA Gold has utilized several players from Metropolis on the team and when the team has a need, players can come into the team with an understanding of the system that Nate Osborne uses. That eases the transition.
Expect Kavika to be a good fit with NOLA Gold!
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