Queanbeyan Kangaroos fullback Ratu Tagive is on the radar of the ACT Brumbies and will be named in the extended ACT squad for next year's national sevens championships.
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The 23-year-old former Bulldogs and Wests Tigers lower grader is eager to give professional sport another crack and is willing to switch codes to make that happen.
Tagive was invited to play for the Queanbeyan Whites at the Brumbies Club Sevens over the past two weeks, and did enough to be on the shortlist for next year's national sevens championships at Narrabeen in March.
The barnstorming 195-centimetre, 102-kilogram outside back came to the attention of the Brumbies after they saw an impressive YouTube highlights package of him playing for the Kangaroos in the Canberra Raiders Cup.
Tagive has also attracted interest from rugby league clubs in Queensland and in England, along with French rugby union.
It's understood the Brumbies are keen to monitor Tagive over the next six months and he could potentially fill the last remaining spot in their training squad designated for an outside back.
Previous graduates of the Brumbies' training squad include Tom Staniforth and Rodney Iona, who have both been upgraded to Super Rugby contracts.
Tagive is confident he has the natural ability to be a success in sevens and wants to use it as a stepping stone to winning a contract with the Brumbies.
"I 100 per cent think I have the natural talent to run around with those boys and I'm happy to be a student of the game and learn as much as possible," Tagive said.
"The bigger picture is we would love something to eventuate with the Brumbies.
"Whatever hoops I have to leap through to make that happen, that's the path that we'll take."
Tagive and his partner have just bought their first house in Bruce and he is studying a bachelor of psychology with a major in human nutrition at the University of Canberra.
His older brother Peni also has a background in the NRL, having played for the Sydney Roosters before making the switch to college football in the US with Baylor University.
Tagive moved to Canberra last year after he walked away from a first-grade contract with the Bulldogs at the end of 2012.
"I moved from Sydney to get away from everything," Tagive said.
"It was a big decision, but I've got to say it was one of the best decisions I've made.
"Now here we are a year later, trying to explore what's the best avenue to get back to the professional sporting sphere."
His YouTube highlights package has been instrumental to getting his foot in the door.
Tagive gives the credit to his partner, Victoria McKew, a training co-ordinator with the Capital Training Institute who has a background in public relations, for putting the video together and giving his career a second chance.
"She's emailed a lot of different clubs and forwarded my CV and my YouTube highlights reel," Tagive said.
"Essentially we've stepped away from my player agent and ventured out on our own.
"It's good to see these opportunities are coming up off our hard work."
