Viliami Taulani

Viliami Taulani (born 17 January 1997)[1] is a Tongan rugby union player who plays for Harlequins in the Premiership Rugby. His playing position is flanker.

Viliami Taulani
Date of birth (1997-01-17) 17 January 1997
Place of birthTonga
Height191 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Weight118 kg (260 lb; 18 st 8 lb)
SchoolManurewa High School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker
Current team Harlequins
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016–21 Counties Manukau 20 (10)
2021 Chiefs 2 (0)
2021- Harlequins 12 (10)
2022 →London Scottish 1 (0)
Correct as of 5 Mar 2022
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2021– Tonga 4 (5)
Correct as of 14 Jul 2021

Early life

Taulani was educated in New Zealand at Manurewa High School in the southern suburbs of Auckland.[2] He played with the school team, playing in the local high school championship, and was one of the most prominent players.[2][3] He was part of his school's first team, which won the Auckland Championship in 2015.[4] He also played rugby sevens with his team.[5]

Career

Club

After completing his schooling, he played with Patumahoe RFC in the Counties Manukau Rugby Championship.[6][7] At the same time, he represented the Counties Manukau province under-19 team.[7][8] He also played with the Under-20 team, then the Development team, of the Chiefs franchise in 2016.[9][10]

The 19-year-old was retained in the Counties Manukau senior roster for the 2016 National Provincial Championship (NPC) season.[2][11] He played his first match at the professional level on 18 August 2016 against North Harbor.[12] He played five games in his first season, all as a substitute.[6]

Taulani played little with Counties Manukau in the 2017 and 2018 NPC seasons (two and three games played respectively), before finally breaking through in the 2020 season.[6]

After this first full season at provincial level, he played the pre-season of Super Rugby with the Chiefs franchise, and he was aligned in friendly matches.[13] Later in the season, he was granted a short-term contract with his team, following several injuries in the workforce.[14] He played his first game in Super Rugby Aotearoa on 1 May 2021, against the Blues.[15] He played a second match a month later, during the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman , against the Waratahs.[16]

In August 2021 he joined Harlequins in the Premiership Rugby ahead of the 2021-22 season.[17][18][19] He played twelve games in his first season, mostly in a back- up role for England international Alex Dombrandt.[20] He also played one game with Harlequins partner club London Scottish in the Second Division.[20][21]

In the 2023 NPC season proudly back in the hoops for the Counties Manukau Steelers.

International

Taulani was selected for the first time with the Tonga team in June 2021.[22] He earned his first cap against New Zealand on 3 July 2021 in Auckland.[23][24] He then played the double confrontation against Samoa, then the match against the Cook Islands, all in the context of qualifying for the 2023 World Cup.[25]

References
  1. "Viliami Taulani". Ultimate Rugby. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  2. "Rugby: Counties Steelers name injury-depleted squad". New Zealand Herald. 25 July 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  3. "Clamour for Kiwi talent in the NRL is HUGE". College Sport Media. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  4. Alan Apted (20 August 2015). "SPORT: Manurewa High School rules". Stuff. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  5. "Rugby Sevens Champs". Manurewa High School. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  6. "Viliame T H Taulani". New Zealand Rugby History. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  7. "Junior Counties Cavaliers set to face Fiji Under 20s". New Zealand Herald. 9 April 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  8. "Counties Manukau U19 side named to defend the Micheal Jones memorial trophy". Counties Manukau. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  9. "Counties Manukau Academy Players named in Chiefs U20 team!". Counties Manukau. 17 February 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  10. "HONG KONG RUGBY UNION WELCOMES CHIEFS DEVELOPMENT SQUAD". HKRU. 15 April 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  11. Alan Apted (27 July 2016). "Sport: Injuries hobble Steelers before NPC season even gets underway". Stuff. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  12. "Rugby: 11 players to make Mitre 10 Cup debut for Counties Manukau". New Zealand Herald. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  13. "McKenzie to play pivotal role for Chiefs". Rugby365. 19 February 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  14. "Gallagher Chiefs named to face the Blues at Eden Park" (Press release). Chiefs. 29 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  15. "Messam named on bench as Chiefs prepare for Blues at Eden Park". Super Rugby. 29 April 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  16. "Chiefs add to Waratahs' misery". Rugby365. 12 June 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  17. "VILIAMI TAULANI SIGNS FOR HARLEQUINS". Quins. 11 August 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  18. "Viliami Taulani: Harlequins sign Tonga forward from Waikato Chiefs". BBC Sport. 11 August 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  19. "Harlequins announce capture of Viliami Taulani from Chiefs". The Rugby Paper. 11 August 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  20. "Viliami TAULANI". Its Rugby. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  21. "London Scottish make five changes for Ealing clash". London Scottish. 4 March 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  22. "Tonga names 15 new caps to face All Blacks, Samoa". RNZ. 18 June 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  23. "Tongan debutants excited for international debut against All Blacks". RNZ. 1 July 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  24. "International men of mystery — just who are these Tongans facing the All Blacks?". Stuff. 3 July 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  25. "Viliami Taulani Tonga". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
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