Viliami Taulani (born 17 January 1997)[1] is a Tongan rugby union player who plays for Harlequins in the Premiership Rugby. His playing position is flanker.
Date of birth | 17 January 1997 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Place of birth | Tonga | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 191 cm (6 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 118 kg (260 lb; 18 st 8 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Manurewa High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Early life
editTaulani was educated in New Zealand at Manurewa High School in the southern suburbs of Auckland.[2] He played with the school team, playing in the local high school championship, and was one of the most prominent players.[2][3] He was part of his school's first team, which won the Auckland Championship in 2015.[4] He also played rugby sevens with his team.[5]
Career
editClub
editAfter completing his schooling, he played with Patumahoe RFC in the Counties Manukau Rugby Championship.[6][7] At the same time, he represented the Counties Manukau province under-19 team.[7][8] He also played with the Under-20 team, then the Development team, of the Chiefs franchise in 2016.[9][10]
The 19-year-old was retained in the Counties Manukau senior roster for the 2016 National Provincial Championship (NPC) season.[2][11] He played his first match at the professional level on 18 August 2016 against North Harbor.[12] He played five games in his first season, all as a substitute.[6]
Taulani played little with Counties Manukau in the 2017 and 2018 NPC seasons (two and three games played respectively), before finally breaking through in the 2020 season.[6]
After this first full season at provincial level, he played the pre-season of Super Rugby with the Chiefs franchise, and he was aligned in friendly matches.[13] Later in the season, he was granted a short-term contract with his team, following several injuries in the workforce.[14] He played his first game in Super Rugby Aotearoa on 1 May 2021, against the Blues.[15] He played a second match a month later, during the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman , against the Waratahs.[16]
In August 2021 he joined Harlequins in the Premiership Rugby ahead of the 2021-22 season.[17][18][19] He played twelve games in his first season, mostly in a back- up role for England international Alex Dombrandt.[20] He also played one game with Harlequins partner club London Scottish in the Second Division.[20][21]
In the 2023 NPC season proudly back in the hoops for the Counties Manukau Steelers.
International
editTaulani was selected for the first time with the Tonga team in June 2021.[22] He earned his first cap against New Zealand on 3 July 2021 in Auckland.[23][24] He then played the double confrontation against Samoa, then the match against the Cook Islands, all in the context of qualifying for the 2023 World Cup.[25]
References
edit- ^ "Viliami Taulani". Ultimate Rugby. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
- ^ a b c "Rugby: Counties Steelers name injury-depleted squad". New Zealand Herald. 25 July 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ "Clamour for Kiwi talent in the NRL is HUGE". College Sport Media. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ Alan Apted (20 August 2015). "SPORT: Manurewa High School rules". Stuff. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ "Rugby Sevens Champs". Manurewa High School. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ a b c "Viliame T H Taulani". New Zealand Rugby History. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ a b "Junior Counties Cavaliers set to face Fiji Under 20s". New Zealand Herald. 9 April 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ "Counties Manukau U19 side named to defend the Micheal Jones memorial trophy". Counties Manukau. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ "Counties Manukau Academy Players named in Chiefs U20 team!". Counties Manukau. 17 February 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ "HONG KONG RUGBY UNION WELCOMES CHIEFS DEVELOPMENT SQUAD". HKRU. 15 April 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ Alan Apted (27 July 2016). "Sport: Injuries hobble Steelers before NPC season even gets underway". Stuff. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ "Rugby: 11 players to make Mitre 10 Cup debut for Counties Manukau". New Zealand Herald. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ "McKenzie to play pivotal role for Chiefs". Rugby365. 19 February 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ "Gallagher Chiefs named to face the Blues at Eden Park" (Press release). Chiefs. 29 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
- ^ "Messam named on bench as Chiefs prepare for Blues at Eden Park". Super Rugby. 29 April 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ "Chiefs add to Waratahs' misery". Rugby365. 12 June 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ "VILIAMI TAULANI SIGNS FOR HARLEQUINS". Quins. 11 August 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
- ^ "Viliami Taulani: Harlequins sign Tonga forward from Waikato Chiefs". BBC Sport. 11 August 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ "Harlequins announce capture of Viliami Taulani from Chiefs". The Rugby Paper. 11 August 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ a b "Viliami TAULANI". Its Rugby. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ "London Scottish make five changes for Ealing clash". London Scottish. 4 March 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ "Tonga names 15 new caps to face All Blacks, Samoa". RNZ. 18 June 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ "Tongan debutants excited for international debut against All Blacks". RNZ. 1 July 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ "International men of mystery — just who are these Tongans facing the All Blacks?". Stuff. 3 July 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ "Viliami Taulani Tonga". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
External links
edit- Viliami Taulani at Premiership Rugby
- Viliami Taulani at ESPNscrum
- Viliami Taulani at ItsRugby.co.uk