Joe Taufeteʻe

Joseph Soosemea Taufeteʻe (born October 4, 1992)[1] is an American rugby union player who plays as a hooker and prop for the Houston SaberCats in Major League Rugby (MLR). A converted American football player, Taufeteʻe has also previously represented the United States by serving as captain of the USA Selects. He also plays for the United States national team.

Joe Taufeteʻe
Full nameJoseph Soosemea Taufeteʻe
Date of birth (1992-10-04) October 4, 1992
Place of birthNu'uuli, American Samoa
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1]
Weight266 lb (121 kg; 19 st 0 lb)[1]
SchoolVallejo High School
Garden Grove High School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Hooker
Prop
Current team Houston SaberCats
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2011–c.2013 Belmont Shore RFC ()
2014 Sciota Valley RFC ()
2014 Otorohanga RFC ()
Correct as of March 7, 2019
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016 San Diego Breakers 8 (5)
2016–2020 Worcester Warriors 46 (30)
2020–2022 Lyon 19 (0)
2022 LA Giltinis 8 (10)
2022–2023 Leicester Tigers 5 (0)
2023– Houston SaberCats 7 (20)
Correct as of 26 June 2023
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016 USA Selects 3 (0)
2015– United States 36 (115)
Correct as of 7 August 2023
College football career
Santa Ana College Dons – No. 32
PositionDefensive tackle
Career history
College

He previously played for LA Giltinis in Major League Rugby, Lyon OU in France's Top 14 , Worcester Warriors and Leicester Tigers in Premiership Rugby and the San Diego Breakers in PRO Rugby.

Early life

Joe Taufeteʻe was born on October 4, 1992[1] in Nu'uuli, American Samoa[2] and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area[3] after moving with his family to California at the age of five.[2] Of Samoan descent, Taufeteʻe played American football as a youth and aspired to playing in the NFL.[3] Taufeteʻe attended Santa Ana College in Santa Ana, California and played at defensive tackle for school's football team during the 2010 and 2011 seasons.[3][4] Taufeteʻe earned multiple All-Conference honors during his time with the team,[4] but an ACL injury ended his aspirations of furthering his career in football.[3]

Rugby career

Club

Taufete'e began playing rugby with the Belmont Shore U-19 team while studying and playing American football at Santa Ana Community College.[5] He then went to New Zealand to develop his rugby skills.

In early 2016, Taufete'e was signed to a professional contract by the San Diego Breakers. In December 2016, Taufete'e signed a contract to the Worcester Warriors in the English Premiership.[6]

On 26 February 2020, Taufete signed for French side Lyon in the Top 14 ahead of the 2020–21 season.[7] In March 2022, following the birth of his child in California, Taufete’e was granted release from Lyon and was subsequently signed by the LA Giltinis.[8]

In August 2022 Taufete'e signed for Leicester Tigers in England's Premiership Rugby.[9] Head coach Steve Borthwick described Taufete'e as "a powerful player, in attack and defence".[9] He made his debut on 18 September 2022 as a replacement in a 36-21 win over Newcastle Falcons at Welford Road. He featured 5 times before leaving Tigers in April 2023 to join Houston SaberCats.

International

The uncapped Taufete'e was a surprise inclusion in the U.S. squad for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.[5] Taufete'e debuted for the United States at the 2015 Rugby World Cup against South Africa.[10] He also played for the U.S. at the 2016, 2017, and 2019 Americas Rugby Championships. The USA star has made 22 appearances for the Eagles, scoring 20 tries. This surpasses former Ireland great Keith Wood, a hooker, for the most international tries by any player in the tight five (i.e., either a hooker, prop, or lock).[11]

International tries
Try Opposing team Venue Competition Date Result Score Ref.
1  ChileLockhart Stadium, Fort Lauderdale2016 Americas Rugby ChampionshipFebruary 20, 2016Won64–0[12]
2  BrazilAthletic Club, São Paulo2016 Americas Rugby ChampionshipFebruary 27, 2016Lost23–24[13]
3  TongaAnoeta Stadium, San SebastiánTest matchNovember 19, 2016Lost17–20[14]
4  CanadaTorero Stadium, San Diego2019 Rugby World Cup QualifierJuly 1, 2017Won52–16[15]
5
6  GermanyBrita-Arena; Wiesbaden[16]Test matchNovember 18, 2017Won46–17[17]
7  GeorgiaMikheil Meskhi Stadium, TbilisiTest matchNovember 25, 2017Lost20–21[18]
8
9  RussiaDick's Sporting Goods Park, Commerce CityTest matchJune 9, 2018Won62–13[19]
10
11  ScotlandBBVA Compass Stadium, HoustonTest matchJune 16, 2018Won30–29[20]
12
13  SamoaAnoeta Stadium, San SebastiánTest matchNovember 10, 2018Won30–29[21]
14  IrelandAviva Stadium, DublinTest matchNovember 24, 2018Lost14–57[22]
15  ChileEstadio Santiago Bueras; Maipu2019 Americas Rugby ChampionshipFebruary 2, 2019Won71–8[23]
16  UruguayStarfire Sports, Tukwila2019 Americas Rugby ChampionshipMarch 2, 2019Lost25–32[24]
17
18
19  CanadaStarfire Sports, Tukwila2019 Americas Rugby ChampionshipMarch 9, 2019Won30–25[25]
20
21  CanadaInfinity Park, Glendale, Colorado2023 Rugby World Cup QualifierSeptember 11, 2021Won38–16[26]
22  ChileEstadio Santa Laura-Universidad SEK, Santiago2023 Rugby World Cup QualifierJuly 9, 2022Won22–21[27]
23  ChileInfinity Park, Glendale, Colorado2023 Rugby World Cup QualifierJuly 16, 2022Lost29–31[28]

References
  1. "Joe Taufeteʻe". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  2. Malala, Leiloa Ese (May 11, 2017). "Joseph Taufetee is a rugby star". Samoa News. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  3. Harvey, Neale (April 8, 2017). "I was close to being an LA drop-out". The Rugby Paper. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  4. "Former Don of the Year Joe Taufete'e Signs with Professional Rugby Team". Santa Ana College Athletics. March 27, 2017. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  5. "Interview with Uncapped Eagle Joseph Taufete’e", Rugby Wrap Up, August 27, 2015.
  6. "Worcester sign USA forward Taufete'e". BBC Sport.
  7. "Joe Taufete'e: Worcester Warriors hooker to join Lyon next season". BBC Sport. February 26, 2020.
  8. "GILTINIS SWOOP ON USA EAGLE JOE TAUFETE'E". LA Giltinis. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  9. Coetzee, Dylan (August 12, 2022). "Leicester Tigers: Joe Taufete'e and Tom Horton headline trio of new signings for the Premiership champions". Planet Rugby. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
  10. "Joseph Taufete'e Rugby World Cup Profile". Rugby World Cup. August 30, 2015. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
  11. SFMS Limited. "Player Records, overall figures, tight five, by total tries scored". Statsguru. ESPN.com. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  12. "Americas Rugby Championship - Fort Lauderdale, 20 February 2016, 18:00 local, 23:00 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  13. "Americas Rugby Championship - Sao Paulo, 27 February 2016, 20:00 local, 23:00 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  14. "Tonga Tour - San Sebastian, 19 November 2016, 17:00 local, 16:00 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  15. "2019 Rugby World Cup Qualifier - San Diego, 1 July 2017, 15:00 local, 22:00 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  16. "Germany vs USA – Full Match Video". Americas Rugby News. November 19, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  17. "United States of America Tour - Wiesbaden, 18 November 2017, 17:00 local, 16:00 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  18. "United States of America Tour - Tbilisi, 25 November 2017, 18:00 local, 14:00 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  19. "Russia Tour - Commerce City, 9 June 2018, 18:00 local, 00:00 GMT +1d". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  20. "Scotland Tour - Houston, 16 June 2018, 20:00 local, 03:00 GMT +1d". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  21. "United States of America Tour - San Sebastian, 10 November 2018, 18:30 local, 17:30 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  22. "United States of America Tour - Lansdowne Road, 24 November 2018, 18:30 local, 18:30 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  23. "Americas Rugby Championship - Maipu, 2 February 2019, 15:00 local, 18:00 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  24. "Americas Rugby Championship - Seattle, 2 March 2019, 19:10 local, 03:10 GMT +1d". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  25. "Match Report: USA vs. Canada, 2019 Americas Rugby Championship". World Rugby. March 9, 2019. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  26. "USA SET UP AMERICAS 1 SHOWDOWN WITH URUGUAY". Rugby World Cup. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  27. "Rugby World Cup Qualifying 2021". World Rugby. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  28. "Chile secure Rugby World Cup debut with dramatic defeat of the USA". World Rugby. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
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