When visiting players arrive at the rugby club in the small Welsh village of Rhigos, they have to make a long, muddy and uphill journey on foot from the changing rooms to the pitch.Those who did so last season were in for a shock when they got there. Not many sides in Wales’ fifth tier are able to call on a PREM Rugby winner and two-time top try scorer who played at three World Cups, but Rhigos can.The presence of Vereniki Goneva, who won 59 caps for Fiji and lifted the PREM with Leicester, has struck fear into the hearts of those who have faced his new team at the top of the Cynon Valley. So, how on earth did the now 42-year-old – who also played for Newcastle and Harlequins – end up there?‘It’s a long story,’ Goneva tells Daily Mail Sport.‘In our long-term planning, my wife and I would like to go back home to Fiji to farm. But at the moment, I’m living in Wales with my wife’s family. I want to give back to the family farm in Fiji, connect with my country again and live the old rugby life.’Goneva met his wife Raijeli through rugby circles as her father, Emori Katalau, was also a former Fiji international who ended his playing career in Wales with Llanelli. Vereniki Goneva played at three World Cups for Fiji, winning 59 caps in all and scoring 22 tries And now he is in the Welsh third tier playing for Rhigos, near Merthyr Tydfil The Fiji legend with his family in their village of Nagado in 2014Katalau stayed in Wales on retiring and now coaches Rhigos in Division Three West Central, where his family connection allowed him to sign Goneva. Goneva continues to live with his in-laws, the four Fijians sharing a home together in Hirwaun, a mile or so from Rhigos.‘Playing for Rhigos is very different to playing for Fiji or Leicester,’ says Goneva, who later this month will be part of a world-record attempt to play the longest game of rugby sevens ever recorded to support rugby mental health charity LooseHeadz.‘It’s more enjoyable. I enjoy watching and playing with the young boys. They give their all to try and win. I still play to give me good feelings and keep my body fit, but I also enjoy it, because it’s still rugby.‘The boys in Rhigos know me very well now. The players on the other teams don’t, but sometimes after matches they come up to me and realise who I am. I’ve had some come up to me and go, “Ah yes, it’s you!”. But I don’t play for that reason.‘I love the club environment very much. It brings back memories from when I was very young. After the game, the boys enjoy themselves. I have a beer with them – not every week – but when we have a good game, and sometimes when we have a bad one!‘Like in Fiji, they love their rugby in Wales. Especially in the grassroots clubs. The people who come to watch and go to the clubhouse give 100 per cent to support the boys. It’s very different to Fiji. But for me, everywhere and everything is different to Fiji! You can’t compare it to England, Wales or anywhere else. In a good way.’After signing last summer, Goneva’s first season with Rhigos saw him nearly take his new team to the WRU Division 3 Cup final at the Principality Stadium. Only semi-final heartbreak stopped him returning to the home of Welsh rugby – a venue where he’d previously played for his country, including at the 2015 World Cup.At his peak, Goneva was a flying wing of considerable repute. Epitomising Fijian flair, he had a knack for scoring brilliant individual tries. He crossed in the 2013 PREM final as his Leicester side beat bitter rivals Northampton to lift the title. Twice the PREM’s top try scorer, in 2016 he left Leicester for Newcastle and two years later was named the PREM’s player of the season. Back at Vaturu Rugby Club, the first stop on a glittering career for the now 42-year-old Goneva spent four years with Leicester, three at Newcastle and one at Harlequins, after a brief spell with Rotherham Titans at the start of his career Goneva was the Premiership’s top try scorer in two different seasons, with 12 in 2013-14 for Leicester and 13 in 2017-18 for Newcastle‘Right now, I can look back on my rugby career with good memories,’ he says. ‘When I was playing, I did not see things as I do now. It’s a different life now. Mindset-wise, physicality-wise. It’s like a different world for me.’At the moment, I work part-time on the railway, on the tracks. It’s manual work, working in a team. Sometimes, we work at night. We dig some holes. The opportunity came to do it and I really enjoy it. ‘Every game for me was enjoyable. I had a lot of highlights. Winning the PREM with Leicester was the big one for me. So too was playing for Fiji. I learned a lot and I am very thankful for what rugby gave me and the career I had. I loved my time at Leicester and there was Newcastle and Harlequins as well. I was fortunate to play for some very big clubs.’Former Neath and Wales back-rower Dai Morris helped form Rhigos RFC and is a regular presence at matches, watching from the dead-ball area. His namesake Jason helps Katalau with the coaching.‘Vereniki brings so much to our back-line. He just loves to play and he has nothing to prove,’ says Jason. ‘He just loves to organise things, put people into space and bring on our youngsters. He’s a great bloke to have around the club because he is so friendly, approachable and keen to train and play whenever he can.’Both he and Emori love the culture at the club and our family environment. We have great support from the committee and the whole village.’Last weekend, Goneva was an interested observer as Fiji lost to Wales in Cardiff at the start of the new Nations Championship competition.This weekend, the Pacific Islanders play England at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium before completing their series of ‘home’ matches against Scotland in Edinburgh. Fiji’s Nations Championship campaign got off to a sloppy start as they were beaten 39-24 by Wales in Cardiff Fiji celebrate their historic first win over England in 2023, beating Steve Borthwick’s side 30-22 at Twickenham Goneva taking on England at Twickenham in the 2015 World Cup‘To be honest, it’s going to be a tough game against England for Fiji. It’s going to be exciting as well,’ Goneva said. ‘Fiji beat England in 2023 and England lost against South Africa too last weekend. Fiji know what they’re doing at the moment.‘It’s another game to show our worth against Tier One opposition. This new competition is different but a good thing for Fiji rugby.’We play the games here because we don’t have big stadiums back at home, but hopefully in the future we can see that change.’Vereniki Goneva was speaking on behalf of rugby mental health charity LooseHeadz and their world-record attempt. You can donate here.