Date of birth | 6 March 1971 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Place of birth | Tonga | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 209 lb (95 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Simana "Joe" Mafileo (born 14 September 1969) is a Tongan former rugby union player. He played as centre.
Mafileo debuted for Tonga in the 1995 Rugby World Cup, playing only against Ivory Coast, at Rustenburg. He also played for Tonga Sevens in the first Rugby World Cup Sevens in 1993 and for Japan Sevens in the 2001-02 World Sevens Series. His last international cap for tonga was during the match against Fiji, at Nadi, on 4 July 2003. At club level, he played for Bay of Plenty, North Harbour, Northland and Kubota Spears. [1]
The 1987 Rugby World Cup was the first Rugby World Cup. It was co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia – New Zealand hosted 21 matches while Australia hosted 11 matches. The tournament was won by New Zealand, who were the strong favourites and won all their matches comfortably. New Zealand defeated France 29–9 in the final at Eden Park in Auckland. The New Zealand team was captained by David Kirk and included such rugby greats as Sean Fitzpatrick, John Kirwan, Grant Fox and Michael Jones. Wales finished third, and Australia fourth, after conceding crucial tries in the dying seconds of both their semi-final against France and the third-place play-off against Wales.
The Tonga national rugby union team represents the Tonga Rugby Union in men's international rugby union. The team is nicknamed ʻIkale Tahi . Like their Polynesian neighbours, the Tongans start their matches with a traditional challenge – the Sipi Tau. They are members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) along with Fiji and Samoa. The Ikale Tahi achieved a historic 19–14 victory over France in the 2011 Rugby World Cup, but having lost to New Zealand and Canada, were unable to achieve what would have been their first-ever presence at the quarter-finals.
The Tonga Rugby Union is the governing body of the sport of rugby union in Tonga. They are members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) along with Fiji and Samoa. There is a rugby union playing population of fewer than 800 out of a total population of 100,000.
The Tonga national rugby league team represents Tonga in rugby league football. They are currently the fifth ranked team in the world. The team was formed to compete in the 1986 Pacific Cup, and have competed at six Rugby League World Cups, starting in 1995 and continuing consecutively until the most recent tournament. Their best result was at the 2017 Rugby League World Cup, where they were semi-finalists.
The Samoa national rugby league team represents Samoa in rugby league football and has participated in international competition since 1986. Known as Western Samoa before 1997, the team is administered by Rugby League Samoa and are nicknamed Toa Samoa.
The Italy national rugby league team represents Italy in rugby league football. With origins dating back to the 1950s and 1960s, the team has competed regularly in international competitions since 2008, when their current governing body, the Federazione Italiana Rugby League, was formed. They are currently ranked 13th in the IRL World Rankings.
The 1993 Rugby World Cup Sevens was held at Murrayfield in Edinburgh, Scotland, in April 1993. This tournament was the inaugural Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament. The International Rugby Board invited the established rugby union nations but also were keen to involve emerging nations in the event, recognising the fact that Sevens was providing the bridge between the developed rugby nations and those whose rugby union traditions were less well established.
Rugby union in Samoa is the country's most popular sport. The national teams in both the standard 15-man game and rugby sevens are consistently competitive against teams from vastly more populous nations.
Isireli Bobo, is a Fijian rugby union footballer.
Tevita Vaikona is a Tongan professional rugby league and rugby union footballer, a winger who played rugby league and picked up many honours before switching codes to rugby union. In 2002, Vaikona was voted best rugby league winger in the world.
Aleki Lutui in Tofoa, Tonga, is a Tongan rugby union international player. His position is hooker. He is currently playing club rugby for Ampthill in RFU Championship.
Ipolito Fenukitau is a Tongan rugby union footballer. He has played over 10 times for the Tonga national rugby union team, including representing them at the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa and 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia. His usual position is at flanker.
The Tonga national rugby sevens team competes in the World Rugby Sevens Series. Tonga has participated in all but one of the Rugby World Cup Sevens tournaments.
Sport in Tonga consists of many games. Rugby union is the national sport, sumo has a following, while football, judo, surfing, volleyball, and cricket have gained popularity in recent years. Rugby league and Australian football are also played.
Jack Ram is a Tongan professional rugby union footballer. He plays for New England Free Jacks of Major League Rugby (MLR).
Manu Vunipola is a Tongan former rugby union player and former Tonga sevens coach. He played as scrum-half. Currently he is the Minister of Sport of Tonga.
Samuela H. S. "Semi" Taupeaafe (born in Nuku'alofa, on 29 July 1972)is a Tongan former rugby union player. He played as wing and centre.
Theodore McFarland is a Samoan professional rugby union player and former basketball player. He plays as a lock or flanker for English Premiership Rugby club Saracens and the Samoa national team.
Anzelo Tuitavuki is a rugby union player, who currently plays as a wing for Colomiers in the French Pro D2. He previously played for Hawke's Bay in New Zealand's domestic National Provincial Championship competition and for Moana Pasifika in Super Rugby.
Mafileo is a given name and surname. Notable people with the name include: