 Atonio representing France | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 26 March 1990 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place of birth | Timaru, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 149 kg (328 lb; 23 st 6 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Wesley College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Uini Atonio (Samoan: [winiatoniːo] ; born 26 March 1990) is a professional rugby union player who plays as a prop for Top 14 club La Rochelle. Born in New Zealand, he represents France at international level after qualifying on residency grounds.
Uini Atonio was born on 26 March 1990 in Timaru, New Zealand, to Samoan parents. [1] He started playing rugby union in his hometown at the age of five for amateur club Harlequins RFC. [2] In 2000, he moved to Auckland with his family and attended Wesley College in Pukekohe before joining Counties Manukau at sixteen years old where he stayed until 2011. [2] [3] [4] [5]
At his time at Wesley College, his older brother Vau and he did theatre and were part of the Black Friars, the school's company which performed Shakespeare's plays. [6] After being released by Counties Manukau, he did a few professional theatrical performances to make a little money. [7]
On 1 July 2011, Atonio joined French club La Rochelle after then-head coach Patrice Collazo spotted him at a rugby tens tournament in Hong Kong in 2010. [8] [9] Shortly after his arrival in France, he played his first professional game for the club during the 2011–12 Pro D2 season. After having played fourteen games in his first season, he played twenty nine matches in his second and then thirty in his third season at the end of which he was integral to La Rochelle promotion into the Top 14 in 2014, becoming a cornerstone of the team. [10]
On 16 August 2014, he played his very first Top 14 game against Brive in a 37–15 away loss. [11] [12]
In the 2020–21 season, he reached the Champions Cup and Top 14 finals but lost both games against Toulouse after losing the 2018–19 Challenge Cup final two years earlier. [13] [14] [15]
On 28 May 2022, he led La Rochelle to an epic 21-24 win against Leinster in the 2021–22 European Rugby Champions Cup final at Stade Vélodrome in Marseille, playing more than sixty minutes and earning his first major trophy with the club. [16]
"My son was born in France. Honestly, I feel French. I sing the French anthem. You play for the nation, for your country."
– Atonio at a press conference in January 2017. [17]
Born in New Zealand to Samoan parents, Atonio was eligible to play for both New Zealand and Samoa. He later qualified for France through residency having lived in La Rochelle since 2011. [18]
In 2009, he was named in the Samoa U20 squad for the 2009 IRB Junior World Championship in Japan and was the heaviest player in the tournament. [19]
In 2014, he was called up to the France national team for the 2014 Autumn internationals after completing the required three years of residency and made his debut on 8 November in a 40–15 win over Fiji in Marseille. [20] He was then included in the France squad for the 2015 Six Nations Championship and the 2015 Rugby World Cup a year later, as well as for the 2016, 2017 and 2018 Six Nations Championships. [21]
In 2022, Atonio was included in the squad for the 2022 Six Nations Championship, played in all five games as a starter and won the first French Grand Slam since 2010 after finishing in second place a year ago. [22]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 March 2023 | Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France |  Wales | 25–7 | 41–28 | 2023 Six Nations |
| 2 | 19 August 2023 | Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes, France |  Fiji | 21–10 | 34–17 | 2023 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches |
Cédric Heymans is a French former rugby union footballer who played mainly as a wing or a full-back for French Top 14 club Toulouse and the France national team.
Stade Rochelais, commonly called La Rochelle, is a French professional rugby union club based in La Rochelle, France that competes in the Top 14. Founded in 1898 and wearing yellow and black, the club's first-team plays its home matches at Stade Marcel-Deflandre.
Alfie To'oala Vaeluaga is a professional rugby union player who can play at Flanker or at Number 8. He has an extensive rugby union career, having played club rugby in New Zealand, England and France. He has top flight experience with Bristol, Leeds Carnegie and London Welsh and has been capped 13 times by Samoa including being called up to the Samoa World Cup 2007 team as a replacement for Filipo Levi who fractured his eye socket in a warm up match against Sale. Alfie is currently a player-coach at National League 2 South side Chinnor.
Paul Alo-Emile is a professional rugby union player who plays as a prop for Top 14 club Stade Français. Born in New Zealand, he represents Samoa at international level after qualifying on ancestry grounds.
Sean Dougall is an Irish former rugby union player, and current coach. He played primarily as an openside Flanker but could also play blindside or No.8. Dougall is currently the contact skills coach at La Rochelle in the French Top 14.
The 2013–14 Rugby Pro D2 is the second-level French rugby union club competition, behind the Top 14, for the 2013–14 season. It ran alongside the 2013–14 Top 14 competition; both competitions are operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR).
Sila Puafisi is a Tongan international rugby union player. He previously played for Glasgow Warriors.
Facundo Bosch is an Argentine rugby union player who plays at Hooker for the national Argentina team The Pumas and Stade Rochelais.
Antoine Dupont is a French professional rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for Top 14 club Toulouse and captains the France national team.
Romain Ntamack is a French professional rugby union player who plays as a fly-half for Top 14 club Toulouse and the France national team.
Dany Priso Mouangue is a French rugby union player. His position is prop and he currently plays for Toulon in the Top 14. He began his career at Stade Français.
Pierre Bourgarit is a French rugby union player. His position is hooker and he currently plays for Stade Rochelais in the Top 14.
The 2018–19 Top 14 competition was the 120th season of the French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR). Two new teams from the 2017–18 Pro D2 season were promoted to Top 14 in place of the two relegated teams, Oyonnax and Brive.
Jules Favre is a French rugby union player, who plays for Stade Rochelais.
Emmanuel Latu-Meafou is a professional rugby union player who plays as a lock for Top 14 club Toulouse and the France national team. Born in New Zealand to parents from Samoa, before moving to Australia where he was raised, he later obtained French nationality in 2023 and made his debut for his adoptive country in 2024.
Reda Wardi is a French professional rugby union player who plays as a prop for Top 14 club La Rochelle and the France national team.
Louis Penverne is a French rugby union player who plays at prop forward for Top 14 club La Rochelle.
Eliott Roudil is a France rugby union player who plays as a centre or wing. He has been with Section Paloise in the Top 14 since 2020.
