Sione Havili Talitui
Date of birth (1998-01-25) 25 January 1998
Place of birthNuku'alofa, Tonga
Height1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight108 kg (238 lb; 17 st 0 lb)
SchoolAuckland Grammar School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker, Number 8
Current team Tasman, Moana Pasifika
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2017 Auckland 2 (5)
2018 Blues 1 (0)
2018– Tasman 39 (40)
2020–2023 Crusaders 35 (30)
2024– Moana Pasifika 0 (0)
Correct as of 21 October 2023
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2022– Tonga 11 (0)
Correct as of 21 October 2023

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]

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

  1. ↑ "Sione Havili". mako.nz. 5 September 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  2. ↑ "Sione Havili Talitui". crusaders.co.nz. 5 September 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  3. ↑ "New Crusaders flanker Sione Havili the latest Aucklander to get away from the Blues?". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.