Wallaby Tevita Kuridrani follows famous family members Noa Nadruku, Lote Tuqiri and co to sporting stardom Tevita Kuridrani on the charge for the Wallabies against Italy. IS this the most talented sporting family in Australia? The Wallabies' new centre star Tevita Kuridrani has revealed an extraordinary family tree of high achievers that goes a long way to explaining his own dramatic rise. When your uncle is Noa Nadruku, and your cousin is Lote Tuqiri, there is a fair chance you'll know what to do with a rugby ball. But the gifted genes have filtered well beyond just 22-year-old Tevita. His younger cousin Chris Kuridrani has just signed a Super Rugby contract with the Queensland Reds after going through the Brisbane Broncos junior academy. Former Wallabies star Lote Tuqiri is a cousin of Tevita Kuridrani. Their other cousin Nemani Nadolo, the former Waratah once described as "the next Jonah Lomu," has just signed with Kiwi powerhouse the Crusaders and will line up on the wing next year alongside Dan Carter, Richie McCaw and Israel Dagg. Another cousin, Iliseva Batibasaga, has represented the Australian women's rugby team at two World Cups and is now a member of the women's Sevens side, with her sights set on the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. And yet another cousin, Samu Wara, was at the Western Force and made his Test debut for Fiji at Twickenham last year, but has now switched to league. Tevita Kuridrani's brother Chris has joined the Reds after coming through the Brisbane Broncos academy. The family has also been cheering on brothers Alipate and Kaliova Tani, who are part of Fiji's rugby league World Cup team in Britain, where overnight they played in the quarter-finals against Samoa in Warrington. Tevita Kuridrani, who was to go head-to-head with rugby icon Brian O'Driscoll when the Wallabies face Ireland in Dublin, would not reveal exactly what his family grew up eating in their small Fijian village of Namatakula. But at 196cm and 102kg, the lightning fast centre has shown enough appetite for destruction in his first six Tests to be the firm favourite to wear the Wallabies' crucial No. 13 jersey at the 2015 World Cup. "If I can achieve what uncle Noa and Lote achieved, I would be very happy and proud," Kuridrani said. Tevita Kuridrani's cousin Nemani Nadolo, a former Waratah, has joined the Crusaders. I just want to follow in their footsteps. Especially Lote, he achieved so much in his rugby career, it is a big motivation for me. Our family is really proud of everyone who has done well in sport. Kuridrani is notoriously quiet-spoken, with Brumbies teammates joking that he and fellow Fijian Henry Speight have entire conversations by merely lifting their eyebrows. But when former Wallabies coach Bob Dwyer said this year that Kuridrani was "better than Jason Little ... he could be our best centre since Jason Little, and that includes Stirling Mortlock and Daniel Herbert," it thrust the shy giant firmly into the spotlight. "That comment has put a lot of expectation on me," Kuridrani said. It makes me have to really develop my rugby, because there are people that have already seen the talent, and it's lifted the expectation for me. Tevita Kuridrani on the charge for the Wallabies against Italy in Turin. While Kuridrani admits the "talent and skill was there from the beginning" when he started playing touch rugby on Fiji's productive fields, his road hasn't been as easy as his rapid ascent to international stardom would suggest. "Most of the boys went to private schools, and went to academies, I went the hard way," Kuridrani said. I was at a public school, playing club rugby on the weekends. My school (Corinda State High) didn't even have a rugby team. Through club rugby I got selected for the Australian Sevens team. I was in the Reds academy, then the Brumbies offered me a full contract so I took it. Tevita Kuridrani scores a try for the Wallabies against Italy in Turin. Kuridrani is the middle child between two sisters and a brother, and hopes rugby success will allow him to buy a house for his parents Inosi and Litiana, who lost theirs during the Brisbane floods of 2011. "My dad has always wanted us to work hard, wanted us to be successful people," Kuridrani said. He has taught us the importance of achieving, and not relying on anyone else. Kuridrani's superb form has resulted in Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie pushing Australia's most consistent performer over the last six years, Adam Ashley-Cooper, to the wing to accommodate his new backline gem. Kuridrani's ability to shine among a cast including Quade Cooper and Israel Folau after just a handful of Tests suggests Dwyer's assessment is coming to fruition. Tevita Kuridrani shares a laugh with Wallaby teammates Nick White and Matt Toomua. "What is happening right now is a dream," Kuridrani said. I was 16 when I moved to Australia from Fiji, and ever since then I have wanted to play for the Wallabies, so to be here playing for them now is a big honour. I want to keep trying hard, my goal is trying to keep this jersey for as long as possible. If he does fulfil his massive potential, in 10 years' time the next Wallabies superstar may well be saying that he is following in the footsteps of "cousin Tevita."