He’s a star, if inconspicuous

By Rob Miech

Wednesday, June 4, 2008 | 2 a.m.

The boy erupts when Vahafolau “Vaha” Esikia, one of the elite rugby players in the country, walks through the door.

Cell phones intrigue the mentally challenged boy so much that Esikia gave him one of his old models. The lights of the phone energize the boy when he turns it on.

“He thinks it’s the best toy,” Esikia says. “That’s the only time he’s happy.”

Esikia shines in the eyes of many in the valley who depend on him to bathe them, clean their homes or simply talk with them.

He assists a roster of needy and elderly clients for a nonmedical home health care company and must be available around the clock for emergencies.

Born in Tonga, he has a desire, fueled by his Polynesian roots, to help others. They glow when they see him. When he visits a new client, that light usually is dim.

“As you visit, those eyes ‘come back,’ ” Esikia says. “Some of them just need a friend, even if it’s only for 10 minutes. They’re so happy I’m there. It’s a great joy.”

Continuing to get established in that industry and keeping his family settled in Las Vegas might keep Esikia from earning international fame in the game he loves.

“Family and helping those in need are very important,” he says. “It’s not mandatory. It’s something Polynesians always do. That might keep me from exploring options overseas.”

Esikia, 28, made the jump from the Las Vegas Blackjacks club team to the U.S. national rugby union team, called the Eagles, at an all-star performance in Florida two years ago.

Previous tryouts for the Eagles didn’t go so well. In Florida, he played free and easy, not worrying about who was watching.

Officials from USA Rugby were watching closely. They especially liked how he stripped the ball from foes, and he was invited onto the squad for the Rugby World Cup in France last year.

“There are people who run, people who hit, and people who hit and steal balls,” Blackjacks teammate Glen Amador said. “He’s all three. Wow, he’s a special player.”

In September, Esikia started for the Eagles against defending World Cup champion England in Lens, France.

He wore No. 12 at the inside center position, marking his boyhood idol Mike Catt, who played 75 matches during his 14 years on the English national team. The Eagles were praised for losing only 28-10. After the match, Catt asked Esikia to swap jerseys.

“A great player,” Esikia says. “But I realized he bleeds the same way as I do.”

Half a world away, in a packed Crown & Anchor Pub in Las Vegas, his wife, Siva, and a friend had paid $20 to stand and cheer for Esikia and the Eagles. He broke away once and nearly scored.

“He was in front of everybody,” she says. “But he ran and, I don’t know. Honey, were you nervous? Were you excited?”

Sitting on a couch next to his wife, Esikia smiles. He was trying to hand the ball to speedy winger Takudzwa Ngwenya, who got snagged in traffic.

“And I got caught,” Esikia says.

Before a World Cup match against Tonga, Esikia sang both national anthems. He was born and raised by grandparents in the village of Neiafu, Tonga.

Rugby, the national sport, was in his blood. An uncle, Alatini Saulala, was an explosive outside center for the U.S. national team and coaches a premier club team in San Mateo, Calif.

That’s where Esikia moved, at 10, to live with his American-born parents. He played high school football but turned down a scholarship offer to the University of Oregon to serve a two-year Mormon mission in Connecticut.

“It was a hard decision,” Esikia says. “I took a chance. I wanted to serve the Lord first. Whatever came after that would be the outcome of my hard work.”

He has become a mainstay on the Eagles. After helping the Blackjacks win their first Southern California Division One regular-season championship this season, he received another invitation from the national team.

Esikia left Sunday to join the squad for the Barclays Churchill Cup in Canada, and he will play for the Eagles in a tournament in Japan this year.

He acknowledges feeling butterflies when he slips on a U.S. uniform.

“I’m always getting them,” he says. “They help. A lot of people get nervous. They break down. That butterfly usually is a tool for me to get ready for the games.”

More butterflies are on their way. Tonga’s ties to Great Britain influenced Esikia to keep dual citizenship, with the United States and Tonga, for tax advantages if he plays rugby in Europe.

An agent there has fielded offers from two French professional clubs and one in Italy, and a Japanese agent is testing that market.

“I’m not going to stop him,” Siva Esikia says. “He’s been doing this all his life. It’s his dream.”

Their two young boys politely buzz around the apartment. A third child is on the way. Esikia’s yellow and white cleats are airing out on the patio ledge.

Since the World Cup, fans recognize him as that guy who started against England and marked Catt.

“A lot of people say I have an opportunity to be famous,” Esikia says. “But it’s hard. I enjoy living here and playing with the Blackjacks. It’s all up in the air.”