It is a chance of a lifetime which most rugby players only dream of but Flying Fijians prop Setefano Somoca wants to maximize this opportunity in the Rugby World Cup.

Somoca never played top level rugby in the Deans Trophy secondary school competition and his first taste of provincial rugby was in the Namosi U 21 team.

Hailing from Natokalau village in Kubulau in the province of Bua he played for the Northern Sharks team in the Colonial Cup competition under coach Ifereimi Tawake in 2007.

The 29 year old’s journey to the limelight of his career was in 2008 when Tawake invited him to Sigatoka to play in the Nadroga team and since then he has been the first choice in the Stallions tight head prop position.

Somoca proved his worth when he was named in the Fiji Barbarians team in 2009 and was later recruited by the Fiji Police Force in Sigatoka.

His debut in the national color came last year after a strong performance in the Digicel Cup and Farebrother Sullivan trophy earned him a spot in the team to the Europe Tour in November.

This season he played for the Fiji Warriors in the PRC before joining Canterbury in New Zealand where he learned a few tricks of the trade from the Franks brothers.

Fiji's opening pool game is against Namibia this Saturday at 3.30pm and you can catch the live commentary on our sister station Viti FM with the new voice of rugby, Malakai Veisamasama and 2007 World Cup coach, Ilivasi Tabua.

Story by: Dreu Vukailagi