Rupeni Caucaunibuca (/ruːˈpɛniː ˈðaʊðaʊnɪmˈbuːðɑː/; born 5 June 1980) is a retired Fijian rugby union footballer who last played professionally for Northland in the ITM Cup.
Caucaunibuca's father was a church minister based around the Bua province on the northern parts of Fiji so his family frequently moved.
Caucaunibuca caught the eye of the Fiji selectors and coach, the late Rupeni Ravonu at one of the local 7's competition in early 2000 and he selected the youngster to his Police team.
The Fiji Rugby Union banned him for one year, ruling him out of the 2005 autumn tour of Europe and the 2006 South Pacific Tri-Nations series.
[5] When Caucau failed to arrive in France for Agen's preseason training camp in July 2006, it was widely rumoured that he had yet again displayed his past lack of discipline.
Contrary to reports that he had decided to retire prematurely from rugby, he had also confirmed that he had spoken to his agent, who relayed the message to his Agen Club president that he would join them in the near future.
[8] Scotland international Chris Paterson said of Caucaunibuca that "when he is fit, [he] can be the world's best player" and that he "is the type who can win a game almost on his own.
[13] On 9 April 2007 it was announced that Caucaunibuca had incurred a 3-month ban after testing positive for cannabis use following Agen's Top 14 match against Montauban on 24 March.
He has played 4 games to date for them, scoring 5 tries, which has boosted his career once again since he is currently receiving offers from the Guinness Premiership side Leicester Tigers.
[19] After failing to arrive in time to the club, he was fired and told to leave as the players and management no longer "trusted" him.
[20] In October 2010, Caucau was recruited by the European champions, Stade Toulousain who signed him on as a "medical-joker" (replacement for injured centre Yann David).
[22] He had been playing in the Northland club competition and was named in the Classic All Blacks side to take on his home team, Fiji in their Centenary celebrations on 12 June.
In 2019 during an interview for the documentary Oceans Apart, Caucau revealed he had been living destitute and penniless in his remote Fijian village since finishing up his rugby career with Agen in 2014.
[27] In recent years, however, his ever-increasing weight has prompted a move from wing to centre, and although he is still a prolific try scorer, his tries are no longer in the same vein as those for which he originally shot to fame.