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| Birth name | Epeli Taione | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 2 March 1979 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Vauai'i, Tonga | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 115 kg (18 st 2 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Epi Taione (born 2 March 1979) is a former Tongan rugby union footballer whose last club was London Welsh. He normally played at centre but could cover the wing or back row.
He started his professional career at Newcastle Falcons. In the summer of 2005, he joined Sale Sharks on a two-year contract. However, his contract was cancelled when he was banned for 18 weeks for biting Denis Leamy in a Heineken Cup game against Munster. [1] In the 2005–2006 season, Taione made 5 appearances before his contract was terminated, and Sale Sharks won their first ever Premiership title. [2] After his ban he went to Japan to play for the Sanyo Wild Knights.
Taione controversially changed his name to Paddy Power for the duration of the 2007 Rugby World Cup in a sponsorship deal agreed with the Irish bookmaker. [3] the sponsorship deal financed the Tongan preparation for the World Cup. The Tongans nearly beat the eventual winner, South Africa, and lost narrowly to the other finalist, England.
He then went to play for the Sharks, but in the 2008 Super 14 season he was suspended for six weeks after headbutting a Wellington Hurricanes player, [4] and was also suspended for two weeks in the IRB Pacific 5 Nations after dangerously tackling New Zealand Maori Number Eight, Thomas Waldrom. [5] His next move was to Harlequins, but he received little playing time and so moved on to the French side Racing Métro 92 in 2009. In 2010, he joined London Welsh.
He played for Tonga at the 1999 and 2007 Rugby World Cups. He also played for the Pacific Islanders.
Taione was forced to retire in December 2011 due to a serious knee injury. [6]
In 2009, Taione had a small non-speaking role as a member of the New Zealand Rugby team in the film Invictus . [7] [8]
He is a founder member of APBs aka The Brothers, an invitational club that is instrumental in developing the game in the Asia and Pacific regions. He is involved in a few business ventures around the world including clubs and bars in London. He's a board member of the Tongan Rugby Union.
Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition, consisting of 10 clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby union system.
Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union.
Mark John Cueto is a former English international rugby union player. He played on the wing for Sale Sharks and England. He is currently the third leading try scorer in the Aviva Premiership.
Mathew James Murray Tait is a retired English rugby union player who gained 38 caps for England between 2005–2010, including starting in the 2007 Rugby World Cup Final; and played 279 club games for Newcastle Falcons, Sale Sharks and Leicester Tigers between 2004 and 2018. He was considered a utility back regularly playing at centre, fullback or wing. Tait made his Newcastle debut in 2004 and made his England debut at 18 years old in 2005, at the time the second youngest England player selected since the second World War. He played 87 times for Newcastle before joining Sale in 2008 where he played 49 times. Tait joined Leicester in 2011 and made 143 appearances between his 2011 debut and retirement. Whilst at Leicester Tait started the 2013 Premiership Rugby Final which Leicester won as well as the 2017 Anglo-Welsh Cup Final, which Leicester also won. His final game was on 5 May 2018 against former club Sale.
Rugby union is the national sport of Tonga. Tonga are considered to be a tier 2 rugby nation by the International Rugby Board.
Kerry Cooper Vuna is a professional rugby footballer who plays on the wing for Newcastle Falcons in Premiership Rugby. He played rugby league as a wing for the New Zealand Warriors and Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League competition, before switching to rugby union to play Super Rugby for the Melbourne Rebels.
Nili Latu, playing name of Otenili Langilangi is a Tongan rugby union footballer. In 2018, Latu left Newcastle Falcons after helping Falcons achieve 4th in the Aviva Premiership, the highest finish in 20 years. He moved to Japan to continue playing rugby.
Taufa'ao Filise is a Tongan rugby union footballer who played over 250 games for the Cardiff Blues.
Chris Hala'ufia is a back row forward who plays rugby union football for English club London Welsh in the Aviva Premiership and Tonga. He is well known for his ability to break tackles. Hala'ufia originally made a name for himself with Bradford & Bingley RFC, when he made his début in the English game in the 2003–4 season. At that time Bradford & Bingley were in North 1, but ran away with the league title, with Hala'uifa contributing 27 tries during the campaign. The club also won the Intermediate Cup at Twickenham in April 2004, Hala'uifa's final game for the club before moving on to Italy for the 2004/5 season.
Samuela "Sam" Moa is a former professional rugby league footballer who played as a prop, most recently for the FC Lézignan XIII in the French Elite One Championship. He is both Tonga and New Zealand international.
Sisaro Dautu Koyamaibole is a Fijian rugby union player. His usual position is at number eight. Koyamaibole also plays for Fiji, including playing in the 2003 Rugby World Cup, the 2007 Rugby World Cup and the 2011 Rugby World Cup, and has played for the Fiji Sevens in rugby sevens tournaments. At club level, he has represented Taranaki, Petrarca Padova, Toulon, Sale Sharks, Lyon OU, Bordeaux Bègles and currently plays for Brive.
Viliami Sikalamu "Sika" Manu is a former professional rugby league footballer who played as a second-row forward for Tonga and New Zealand at international level, being a member of the World Cup winning Kiwi team who beat Australia in the 2008 World Cup Final.
Sililo Victor Martens is a former Tongan international rugby union player.
Tom Arscott is a rugby union player most recently with Newcastle Falcons.
Siua Taumalolo is a f former rugby union player. His former teams include Bristol in the Guinness Premiership.
Sale Sharks is a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England. Its team play in Premiership Rugby, and have been in England's top division of rugby union continuously since 1995. Originally founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club, it is one of the oldest existing football clubs. It adopted the nickname Sharks in 1999.
Phil Mackenzie is a retired Canadian rugby union player.
Elvis Taione is a rugby union footballer. His regular playing position is hooker. He previously played Super Rugby for the Western Force, Waratahs, Jersey in the RFU Championship and is currently signed to Exeter Chiefs, winning the Aviva Premiership in 2016/17.
William Helu is a Tongan rugby union player. His usual position is on the wing or at centre. He is part of the Tonga national rugby union team and was part of the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
Taione Vea is a former Tonga rugby union player who most recently played for Newcastle Falcons in the Aviva Premiership, and represented the Tonga national team on six occasions in 2013.
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