BYU Rugby Flanker Apenisa Malani: Interview of the Week

The "Interview of the Week" series continues with this week's guest, BYU Flanker Apenisa Malani. Apenisa's solid efforts on the pitch throughout the course of the past season played a crucial role in the Cougars' first-ever National Title win and, not surprisingly, also led to national individual honors with a selection to the All-American squad.

Apenisa was also recently recognized for his consistent support, both offensively and defensively, with a BYU Rugby Forever Anchor Award. (Photo courtesy of Paul Meyers)


BYU Rugby Forever:
What does it mean to you to win a National Championship for BYU? Feelings? Thoughts? Stories?

Apenisa Malani:
Winning the National Championship meant a lot to me. It meant a reward for the sacrifice made by so many individuals: players, coaching staff, fans, alumni, sponsors, family, etc. These were people that I also played for, and I really hope that the win can be a way of thanking them for their support.

BYU Rugby Forever:
What were the greatest moments/highlights of the 2008-09 season for you?

Apenisa Malani:
Winning the National Championship.

BYU Rugby Forever:
You were recently selected as a Collegiate All-American as well as a BYU Rugby Forever Anchor Award recipient. What do these accolades mean to you? Any aspirations to eventually play rugby at the next level?

Apenisa Malani:
I was very happy to be selected into the All-American squad this year. I really wanted to be a part of the [touring squad] but due to financial constraints and visa problems I was not able to. With regards to the [BYU Rugby Forever Anchor Award], I am grateful to be a recipient and also would like to share the award with the rest of the players who have worked really hard throughout the season without any recognition.

BYU Rugby Forever:
The BYU Rugby team often receives flack for having several Polynesian/Melanesian and older, married players on their roster. Being a Fijian Islander and newlywed (by the way, congratulations!), how do your culture, age, and recent marriage affect you as a collegiate rugby player? Advantages? Disadvantages?

Apenisa Malani:
Well, in some ways I see it as an advantage, but there is also the other side of the coin. Being married and from Fiji has its challenging moments too. There is more responsibility now and I really have to work more, go to school, and also try and be fit and healthy for rugby. Most of us from the islands do not have families here that could readily assist us when we need it.

BYU Rugby Forever:
In your opinion, how did the BYU Rugby team manage to pull off such a miraculous win over Cal this year? Any thoughts on the possibility of the BYU Rugby team taking the National Title again in coming years?

Apenisa Malani:
All of the preparation (training) and the experiences that we went through prior to the National Championship game prepared us well to meet the challenge. Our desire to win ultimately stood out in that game and was rewarded. Like Coach Smyth said, we would not want this win to be a one-shot thing. It is possible to win another title and, with everyone's help, we can do it again.

BYU Rugby Forever:
If you could say anything to BYU Rugby alumni and fans, what would you say?

Apenisa Malani:
I would like to sincerely thank all the supporters and fans who gave of their time, talent, and resources to make our season a successful and a memorable one. They have also assisted us in fulfilling our dream to win a National Championship Title. For some of us, your support has made it possible for us to be here attending Brigham Young University. Big THANK YOU to you all.

BYU Rugby Forever:
Thank you, Apenisa, and many congratulations on the National Championship win and national honors!
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BYU Rugby on BYU TV International

Just recently, the folks at BYU Television International put together a brief story highlighting the BYU Rugby team's National Championship win using footage shot by our guys, Ben Thompson and Micah Brown, for the BYU Rugby 2009 highlight video. Ben informed me of their desire to do the piece, and we were fortunate to acquire this six and a half minute video clip of the final product!

Also featured is an interview with 2009 All-American and BYU Rugby Forever Anchor Award winner, Apenisa Malani. Although all the commentary in this clip is actually in Portuguese, Apenisa's responses weren't dubbed over... so you can pretty much guess the questions that he was asked. Congrats to Apenisa.

So there you have it, friends... BYU Rugby has made some international news after all!!! (ok, at least in those countries where Portuguese is understood)

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The 2009 Anchor Awards

Perhaps more so than any other sport, rugby is all about playing for the team, not for yourself. Whereas in other sports it may seem almost belittling to merely be called a "supporting player," in rugby there are few greater compliments...

Player support is absolutely essential in rugby; without it, true team success is impossible. Being a solid, supporting player doesn't often bring great amounts of recognition, but it does bring great personal satisfaction and increased potential for team success.

Over the course of the BYU Rugby team's amazing run this past season, numerous players contributed to such collective success, the culmination of which yielded a National Title. Time and time again, we fans heard announced the names of standout players, such as Steve St. Pierre, Shaun Davies, Dylan Lubbe, Paul Lasike, Vito Qaqa, and freshman speedster Jordan Lowry...

Nevertheless, in an effort to recognize and spotlight those true supporting players that often go unnamed, BYU Rugby Forever introduces the first-ever "Anchor Awards."

Just as an anchor represents steadfastness and stability in the face of opposition, the BYU Rugby Forever Anchor Awards are given to those BYU players who are a model of consistency offensively, defensively, and with respect to their specific position.

While myriad players on the 2009 BYU Rugby squad showed tremendous grit and rose to the challenge throughout the season, two players stood out in my mind as being most worthy of a 2009 BYU Rugby Forever Anchor Award: Flanker Apenisa Malani and Lock Kyle Sumsion. (Photos courtesy of Paul Meyers)

Now before anyone out there jumps up and says, "Hey, but Apenisa was just named an All-American, and Kyle was named an Honorable Mention! How is that going unnoticed???", allow me to explain...

Let's just say that I've had the idea for the Anchor Awards rolling around in the back of my head since season's end... and just because the Collegiate All-American selectors and coaches also happened to observe the consistency of these two players doesn't mean that I can't follow through with my own, premeditated means of recognition. (So just humor me a little, and we can all still be friends...)

That being said, the first BYU Rugby Forever Anchor Award goes to junior Apenisa Malani in acknowledgment of his unquestionable consistency all across the board. Without fail, Apenisa's offensive efforts set up eventual trys and instigated momentum-building drives that kept the Cougars focused on the end goal.

And true to the nature of his flanker position, Apenisa set a high standard of defense with solid, immobilizing tackles that more often than not left the opposition on their backs! The epitome of collegiate rugby energy and dependability, Apenisa Malani receives my congratulations for being a solid example of a true supporting player to the very end.

Our other Anchor Award winner, freshman Kyle Sumsion, truly made a statement this year with his solid, even surprisingly potent, offensive and defensive play. Who says that freshmen are necessarily more timid, weak, or lacking in skill??? Kyle definitively shattered all such notions with powerful runs and fluid line-outs on offense as well as unbending defensive efforts at the breakdown. Like no other BYU freshman forward before him, 'fearless' was his name...

Honestly, I doubt many spectators ever knew that he hadn't been playing with the team for years prior to this season! My congratulations to Kyle Sumsion for breaking the mold of freshman uncertainty to play an integral, supporting role from the very start.

Congratulations and thanks to both Apenisa and Kyle on an amazing 2009 season!

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