Lopeti Timani

Lopeti Timani
Birth name Lopeti Timani
Date of birth (1990-09-28) 28 September 1990
Place of birth Navutoka, Tonga
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) [1]
Weight 125 kg (276 lb; 19.7 st)
School Tonga College
Rugby union career
Position(s) Lock,Number 8, Flanker
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014−
2018–		 Melbourne Rising
La Rochelle		 19
(36)
Correct as of 14 July 2018
Super Rugby
Years Team Apps (Points)
2012–13
2014–2018		 Waratahs
Rebels		 19
76		 (0)
(30)
Correct as of 14 July 2018
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016– Australia 12 (5)

Lopeti Timani (born 28 September 1990) is a Tongan-born, Australian professional rugby union footballer. His usual position is Number Eight or Flanker. After two seasons with the NSW Waratahs in Super Rugby, he signed on to play for the Melbourne Rebels in 2014.[2]

Early life

Lopeti Timani was born in the Tongan village of Navutoka. His older brothers Sione Timani and Sitaleki Timani are both international rugby players.[3]

He attended Tonga College 'Atele on Tonga. In 2008 he was selected for Tonga's under-20s rugby world championship team at the age of 17, but could not play because of the minimum age limit of 18 imposed by the International Rugby Board.[4]

At age 18 he moved to Australia and switched codes, playing rugby league for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the NRL's Toyota Cup competition in 2009 and 2010.[4][5]

Rugby union career

In 2011, Timani returned to rugby union, joining the Junior Waratahs professional squad where he played in the Pacific Rugby Cup. He played for the Southern Districts Rugby Club in the Shute Shield, where he developed his ability to play at lock in addition to the back row.[3]

He signed an extended player squad contract with the Waratahs for the 2012 season,[3] and made his Super Rugby debut against the Reds in round one.[6] He played against the British & Irish Lions in 2013.[7]

Timani signed with the Melbourne Rebels for the 2014 and 2015 seasons.[2][8][9]

In 2016, Timani debuted for Australia against Argentina in Perth before getting his run on debut against Argentina at Twickenham Stadium in London [10] [11]. This was seen as Timani's break out game as he continued as starting no.8 for his next 4 appearances [12] [13].

Timani recommitted to Australia Rugby until 2019 turning down lucrative offers form Europe [14].

Super Rugby 2tatistics

As of 15 July 2018 [15]
SeasonTeamGamesStartsSubMinsTriesConsPensDropsPointsYelRed
2012 Waratahs140143650000000
2013 Waratahs5141970000000
2014 Rebels202190000000
2015 Rebels1515089340002000
2016 Rebels1212077720001010
2017 Rebels9816090000010
2018 Rebels12664680000000
Total674423326060003020

Reference list

  1. ↑ "Lopeti Timani". Stade Rochelais. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Rebels sign Lopeti Timani". Rebels Media Unit (Press release). Melbourne Rebels. 6 May 2013. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 "2012 Extended Playing Squad announced". nswrugby.com.au. 30 November 2011. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  4. 1 2 Guinness, Rupert (1 February 2009). "Tongan powerhouse in sights of NRL clubs as Waratahs put up the no vacancy sign". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  5. ↑ "Lopeti Timani". melbournerebels.com.au. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  6. ↑ Payten, Iain (28 March 2012). "Feeding the Waratahs 'Bruise Brothers' Sitaleki and Lopeti Timani is a full time job". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  7. ↑ Palmer, Bryn (15 June 2013). "Lions 2013: NSW Waratahs 17–47 British and Irish Lions". BBC. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  8. ↑ Pandaram, Jamie (7 May 2013). "Wallabies hopeful Lopeti Timani decides not to join brother Sitaleki in France". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  9. ↑ Watts, John (21 February 2014). "Contenders: Backrow" (Press release). Melbourne Rebels. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  10. ↑ http://www.rugby.com.au/videos/2016/09/18/12/27/timani-strikes-gold-on-debut
  11. ↑ http://www.rugby.com.au/news/2016/10/06/01/53/wallabies-argentina-twickenham-team-announcement
  12. ↑ http://www.rugby.com.au/news/2016/11/30/13/40/wallabies-england-team-announcement
  13. ↑ http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/rugby/tongan-hitman-lopeti-timana-the-longterm-answer-to-wallabies-search-for-a-no-8/news-story/80768a9fd6173335a525b0df94c0b601
  14. ↑ http://www.aru.com.au/MediaReleases/Article/tabid/1699/ArticleID/18104/LOPETI-TIMANI-SIGNS-THROUGH-UNTIL-THE-END-OF-2019.aspx
  15. ↑ "Player Statistics". its rugby. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
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