Taufa'ao Filise ( born Taufa'ao Filise , born May 26, 1977 in Malapo) is a Tongan rugby player who played the prop position; widely known for his performances for the Cardiff Blues club in the Celtic League (Pro14) from 2005 to 2018 and the Tonga national team [1] .
 Taufa'ao Filise | ||
| general information | ||
| Nickname | King of Tonga ( English The King of Tonga ) [1] [2] | |
| Date of Birth | May 26, 1977 (42 years) | |
| Place of Birth | Malapo , Tonga | |
| Citizenship |  Tonga | |
| Growth | 188 cm | |
| Weight | 124 kg | |
| Position | prop | |
| Club Information | ||
| Club | completed career | |
| Career | ||
| Club career * | ||
| 2003 |  Chefs | 0 (0) |
| 2005 | Blues | 4 (0) |
| 2005 |  Bat | 20) |
| 2006—2018 |  Cardiff Blues | 255 (45) |
| Provincial / State Team ** | ||
| 2000 | Bay of Plenty | |
| National team** | ||
| 2001—2011 | Tonga | 17 (5) |
| 2004—2006 |  Pacific Islanders | 50) |
* The number of games and points for a professional club is counted for the National League, Heineken Cup and Super Rugby. ** The number of games and points for the provincial team in the official matches of regional cups. *** The number of games and points for the national team in official matches. | ||
Content
Play career
Filise graduated from Tupou College in Nuku'alofa , he began his playing career in 2000 at the Bay of Plenty New Zealand Club in the Championship of New Zealand Provinces. In 2003, he was announced as part of the Chefs team at Super Rugby, but did not play a match. In 2005, Filise played 4 matches for the Rugby Club " Blues " in the largest championship of the Southern Hemisphere, Super Rugby , after which he was redeemed by the English club "Bath" and signed an agreement for one season, and the following year he became a player of the " Cardiff Blues " club, debuting in the 2006/2007 Celtic League season. As a member of the club, he won the 2008/2009 Anglo-Welsh Cup (sponsored by EDF Energy) and the European Challenge Cup in the 2009/2010 season. In 2012, he once again extended his contract with the club [3] .
On December 19, 2014, Filise, after playing against Scarlets , set a club record for the number of games per team, playing 183 official matches [4] . For 12 seasons, Filise played 255 matches in total, scoring 9 attempts (45 points) and becoming a cult player among fans. The last game he spent in the European Challenge Cup 2017/2018, bringing his club another trophy - in Bilbao, his team defeated the club " Gloucester " 31:30 and won the European Challenge Cup [1] .
At the national team level, Tonga Filise played a total of 17 games, hitting applications for the World Championships of 2007 and 2011, and also in 2004 and 2006, speaking for the Pacific Islanders national team. The debut game took place against the Fiji team on May 25, 2001 in Nuku'alofa, and the last game was against Japan on September 21, 2011 in Whangarei (as part of the World Cup in New Zealand) [5] . Filise played in the Pacific Nations Cup for the national team of Tonga [6] .
After career
At the end of his gaming career, Filise announced that he would continue to work as part of Dragon Signs , the official sponsor of the Cardiff Blues Club since 2012. He was invited to the post by the Welsh Rugby Players' Association [1] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Simon Thomas. Cardiff Blues legend Taufa'ao Filise gets his first job after rugby as new life begins (eng.) . Wales Online (4 July 2018). The appeal date is July 10, 2019.
- ↑ Filise: Cardiff's King of Tonga on YouTube
- ↑ Filise signs Blues extension (English)
- ↑ Cardiff Blues 21 Scarlets 9 (English) . RK Cardiff Blues (19 December 2014). The appeal date is July 10, 2019.
- ↑ Profile on ESPN website (English)
- ↑ Tonga upset Fiji in PNC opener (English)