Full name | Sione Talikavili Vatuvei | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 14 March 1983 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Nukuʻalofa, Tonga | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 100 kg (15 st 10 lb; 220 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Nelson College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notable relative(s) | Luatangi Vatuvei (brother), Manu Vatuvei (cousin) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sione Talikavili Vatuvei [1] (born 14 March 1983), also known by his middle name Talikavili or Kavili, is a Tongan-born Japanese rugby union footballer. He represented Japan at the 2003 Rugby World Cup. [2] His preferred position is blindside flanker.
He plays in the Top League for Toyota Industries Shuttles [3] in Kariya Aichi where he currently resides.
Vatuvei was educated at Nelson College in New Zealand between 1999 and 2001. [4] He is the youngest brother of former Japanese Rugby union footballer Luatangi Vatuvei. He is also the cousin of former Tongan-New Zealand Rugby league player Manu Vatuvei.
Nelson College is the oldest state secondary school in New Zealand, a feat achieved in part thanks to its original inception as a private school. It is an all-boys school in the City of Nelson that teaches from years 9 to 13. In addition, it runs a private preparatory school for year 7 and 8 boys. The school also has places for boarders, who live in two boarding houses adjacent to the main school buildings on the same campus.
Luatangi Samurai Vatuvei is a Tongan-born Japanese rugby union footballer.
Manu Mapuhola Mafi-Vatuvei, also known by the nickname "The Beast", is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who was both a Tonga and New Zealand international representative winger. He previously played for the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL and for the Salford Red Devils in the Super League. Vatuvei was a member of the New Zealand national team that won the 2008 World Cup. He became the Warriors' top try scorer, and the first player in NRL history to score at least 10 tries in 10 consecutive seasons.
Sione is a given name and a surname. It may refer to:
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Vatuvei is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
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Lopeti Oto is a Tongan-Japanese former rugby union player. He played as wing. His younger brother Nataniela Oto also had acquired Japanese nationality to play for Japan in the 2007 Rugby World Cup and his other brother, Ofa Topeni, plays for Toyota Industries Shuttles since 2009.
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