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Viliami Taulani

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Viliami Taulani
Date of birth (1997-01-17) 17 January 1997 (age 27)
Place of birthTonga
Height191 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Weight118 kg (260 lb; 18 st 8 lb)
SchoolManurewa High School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker
Current team Harlequins
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016–21 Counties Manukau 20 (10)
2021 Chiefs 2 (0)
2022–2023 Harlequins 12 (10)
2022 →London Scottish 1 (0)
Correct as of 5 Mar 2022
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2021– Tonga 4 (5)
Correct as of 14 Jul 2021

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.

Early life

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Taulani 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

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Club

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After 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

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Taulani 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

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  1. ^ "Viliami Taulani". Ultimate Rugby. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "Rugby: Counties Steelers name injury-depleted squad". New Zealand Herald. 25 July 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  3. ^ "Clamour for Kiwi talent in the NRL is HUGE". College Sport Media. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  4. ^ Alan Apted (20 August 2015). "SPORT: Manurewa High School rules". Stuff. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  5. ^ "Rugby Sevens Champs". Manurewa High School. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  6. ^ a b c "Viliame T H Taulani". New Zealand Rugby History. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Junior Counties Cavaliers set to face Fiji Under 20s". New Zealand Herald. 9 April 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  8. ^ "Counties Manukau U19 side named to defend the Micheal Jones memorial trophy". Counties Manukau. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  9. ^ "Counties Manukau Academy Players named in Chiefs U20 team!". Counties Manukau. 17 February 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  10. ^ "HONG KONG RUGBY UNION WELCOMES CHIEFS DEVELOPMENT SQUAD". HKRU. 15 April 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  11. ^ Alan Apted (27 July 2016). "Sport: Injuries hobble Steelers before NPC season even gets underway". Stuff. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  12. ^ "Rugby: 11 players to make Mitre 10 Cup debut for Counties Manukau". New Zealand Herald. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  13. ^ "McKenzie to play pivotal role for Chiefs". Rugby365. 19 February 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  14. ^ "Gallagher Chiefs named to face the Blues at Eden Park" (Press release). Chiefs. 29 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  15. ^ "Messam named on bench as Chiefs prepare for Blues at Eden Park". Super Rugby. 29 April 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  16. ^ "Chiefs add to Waratahs' misery". Rugby365. 12 June 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  17. ^ "VILIAMI TAULANI SIGNS FOR HARLEQUINS". Quins. 11 August 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  18. ^ "Viliami Taulani: Harlequins sign Tonga forward from Waikato Chiefs". BBC Sport. 11 August 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  19. ^ "Harlequins announce capture of Viliami Taulani from Chiefs". The Rugby Paper. 11 August 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  20. ^ a b "Viliami TAULANI". Its Rugby. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  21. ^ "London Scottish make five changes for Ealing clash". London Scottish. 4 March 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  22. ^ "Tonga names 15 new caps to face All Blacks, Samoa". RNZ. 18 June 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  23. ^ "Tongan debutants excited for international debut against All Blacks". RNZ. 1 July 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  24. ^ "International men of mystery — just who are these Tongans facing the All Blacks?". Stuff. 3 July 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  25. ^ "Viliami Taulani Tonga". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
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