Sione Havili Talitui
Sione Havili Talitui (born 25 January 1998) is a Tongan professional rugby union player who plays as a flanker for Super Rugby club Moana Pasifika and the Tonga national team.[1][2]
Date of birth | 25 January 1998 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Place of birth | Nuku'alofa, Tonga | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 108 kg (238 lb; 17 st 0 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Auckland Grammar School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Early life
In 2016 Havili represented the NZ Secondary Schools team, awarded the Golden Boot for the country's best player.
Club career
Havili made his Mitre 10 Cup debut in 2017 for Auckland playing 2 games and scoring a try in the season. He made his debut for the Blues during the 2018 Super Rugby season. He was loaned to Tasman for the 2018 Mitre 10 Cup however his season was cut short by injury, but Tasman coach Andrew Goodman ensured he returned and Havili signed through with the Mako until the end of 2021.[3] He was part of the Tasman Mako team that won the Mitre 10 Cup in 2019 for the first time. Following an outstanding season with Tasman Havili was named in the Crusaders squad for the 2020 Super Rugby season. Havili was again part of the Mako side that won the 2020 Mitre 10 Cup, receiving Mako player of the year, Mako man of the year and defender of the year at the Mako awards. He was part of the Crusaders side that won their fifth Super Rugby title in a row with a 24–13 win over the Chiefs in the 2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa final. In Round 3 of the 2021 Bunnings NPC Havili suffered a season ending injury while playing for Tasman against Northland. The Mako went on to make the premiership final before losing 23–20 to Waikato. In May 2022 he was named in the Tongan national side.
References
- "Sione Havili". mako.nz. 5 September 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
- "Sione Havili Talitui". crusaders.co.nz. 5 September 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
- "New Crusaders flanker Sione Havili the latest Aucklander to get away from the Blues?". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
External links
- Sione Havili at ESPNscrum
- Sione Havili at ItsRugby.co.uk