Jone Naikabula

Jone Naikabula (born 12 April 1994) is a Fijian-born Japanese professional rugby union player.

Biography

Born and raised in Fiji, Naikabula comes from a small village in Nadroga, home to 200 people. He went to Auckland for the final few years of his schooling and attended Kelston Boys' High School, after which he took up a scholarship to Setsunan University in Osaka. After graduating from university, Naikabula was signed by Toshiba Brave Lupus.

Naikabula, a winger, made his rugby sevens debut for Japan in 2017 and represented his adopted country at the following year's Rugby World Cup Sevens in San Francisco. He broke into the Cherry Blossoms team in 2023 and was a member of the side at the Rugby World Cup in France, scoring tries against Chile and Argentina.