Sitaleki Timani

Sitaleki Timani
Sitaleki Timani playing for the Brumbies
Full name Sitaleki Timani
Date of birth (1986-09-19) 19 September 1986
Place of birth Kolonga, Tonga[1]
Height 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)[2]
Weight 126 kg (277 lb, 19 st 11 lb)[3]
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position Lock, Blindside Flanker
Amateur clubs
Years Club / team
Southern Districts
Professional / senior clubs
Years Club / team Caps (points)
2007
2013–		 Perth Spirit
Montpellier		 8
12		 (5)
(0)
correct as of 17 May2014.
Super Rugby
Years Club / team Caps (points)
2008
2009–10
2011–13		 Western Force
Brumbies
Waratahs		 3
8
42		 (0)
(5)
(20)
correct as of 15 July 2013.
National team(s)
Years Club / team Caps (points)
2011–13 Australia 18 (0)
correct as of 24 November 2013.

Sitaleki Timani (born 19 September 1986), is a Tongan-born, Australian professional rugby union footballer. He made his test debut for the Wallabies in 2011. His usual position is lock.

Family and early life

Sitaleki Timani was born in the Tongan village of Kolonga. He is the older brother of Lopeti Timani.

Timani played soccer until he attended Liahona High School and was introduced to rugby union. He was selected for the Tongan Schoolboys rugby team in 2003, and won a scholarship to attend Auckland Grammar School in New Zealand.[1]

He moved to Australia at the age of 19 and switched codes, playing rugby league for Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the NRL's Jersey Flegg competition in 2006, and in Premier League in 2007.[1]

Rugby union career

In August 2007, Timani returned to rugby union, playing for Perth Spirit in the Australian Rugby Championship.[4] He was selected for all Perth Spirit matches for the season, and played 8 times as starting lock. The team finished third on the ARC ladder, but lost their semi-final to the eventual champion team, the Central Coast Rays.[5] The following year, Timani made his Super Rugby debut for the Western Force against the Sharks on 15 February 2008 in Durban, although he only made 3 appearances for the franchise during the season. He moved to the Brumbies in 2009 and played most of the Super Rugby season, but then fell from favour and did not get any game time in 2010.[2]

Timani then took up a development contract with the NSW Waratahs, and won a regular starting position in the 2011 season. At that time, he was eligible to play for both Tonga (by birth) and Australia (by residency). He chose Australia and was selected by the Wallabies, playing against Samoa at Stadium Australia in Sydney on 17 July 2011.[1]

His decision to play for Australia meant he became ineligible to play for Tonga[6] and it probably cost him an appearance at the Rugby World Cup later that year. He was not selected for the Australian 2011 world cup squad but probably would have been selected for Tonga, if eligible.[2]

In 2013, he signed a three-year deal with French side, Montpellier.[7] He joined the club after travelling with the Wallabies on their 2013 end-of-year tour.

Personal life

On 15 December 2012 Sitaleki married his girlfriend of three years.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Harris, Bret (29 January 2009). "Brumbies giant runs with Stuart in mind". Australian. News. Archived from the original on 13 January 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 "Sitaleki Timani player profile". ARU. Archived from the original on 13 January 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  3. ↑ http://www.rugby.com.au/wallabies/TheTeam/WallabiesProfiles/ProfilePage/tabid/1513/playerid/127/Default.aspx
  4. ↑ "Spirit name five Wallabies for ARC debut". Sports Australia. 7 August 2007. Archived from the original on 13 January 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  5. ↑ "Mulvihill disappointed in result but pleased with season". Rugby.com.au. 7 October 2007. Archived from the original on 13 January 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  6. ↑ Under IRB regulations, a player becomes permanently committed to a nation upon his first presence in a matchday squad with the country's full national team, "A" national team, or sevens national team. "Regulation 8: Eligibility to Play for National Representative Teams" (PDF). Regulations Relating to the Game. International Rugby Board. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 12 February 2011. See especially Regulations 8.1 through 8.4.
  7. ↑ Robinson, Georgina (5 April 2013). "Timani gets up to speed for Tahs before flight to France". Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
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