Rob Valetini
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Birth name | Robert Valetini | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 3 September 1998 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 113 kg (249 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Westall Secondary College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rob Valetini (born 3 September 1998) is an Australian Rugby Union player who plays for the Brumbies in the Super Rugby competition.[1] His usual position is in the back row.[2]
Early life
The son of Fijian parents – father Manueli Valetini and mother Finau Valetini – the Melbourne-born Robert Valetini attended Westall Secondary College.[3][4] He played representative rugby for Victorian state teams at under 16, under 18 and under 20 levels.[2] A broken leg in his last year at school meant he missed a chance at selection for the 2016 Australian Schoolboys team,[5] but he was called up to play for the Melbourne Rising in the National Rugby Championship (NRC) later that season.[5]
Rugby career
While still at school, Valetini signed an Extended Playing Squad contract with the Brumbies for the 2017 season.[5] His parents told him the move to Canberra would give him valuable life experience and he was just the second Australian rugby forward to sign a Super Rugby contract while still a schoolboy.[6]
Valetini didn't play much rugby in the early part of his first year due to hand and ankle injuries, but he joined the Australia Under-20 team to play in the 2017 World Championship in Georgia.[7] In 2017, Valetini signed a two-year full-time Super Rugby contract with the Brumbies until 2019,[8] before playing NRC for the Canberra Vikings in 2017.[7]
References
- ↑ "Rob Valetini - Brumbies". Brumbies Rugby. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
- 1 2 "Rob Valetini". Ultimate Rugby. Archived from the original on 16 October 2017. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
- ↑ "Young Robert Valetini extends contract with Brumbies". Fijian Community Association Victoria. 30 August 2017. Archived from the original on 3 November 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
- ↑ Dutton, Chris (29 December 2016). "ACT Brumbies rookie Rob Valetini hits like a freight train, but still learning to drive". The Canberra Times. Archived from the original on 25 January 2017. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
- 1 2 3 "Schoolboy Robert Valentini called up to make his debut for Melbourne Rising". The Daily Telegraph. 30 September 2016. Archived from the original on 16 October 2017. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
- ↑ Dutton, Chris (29 May 2017). "ACT Brumbies junior Rob Valetini wants to prove himself in Australian under-20s team". The Canberra Times. Archived from the original on 25 January 2017. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
- 1 2 "Rob Valetini". It's Rugby. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
- ↑ "Valetini signs until 2019". Rugby Australia. 29 August 2017. Archived from the original on 3 November 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.