Sébastien Vahaamahina (born 21 October 1991) is a French

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

player of

Wallisian Wallisian, or Uvean ( wls, Fakauvea, links=no), is the Polynesian language spoken on Wallis Island (also known as Uvea). The language is also known as East Uvean to distinguish it from the related West Uvean language spoken on the outlier island ...

origin from the French-administered South Pacific

overseas collectivity The French overseas collectivities ('' collectivité d'outre-mer'' or ''COM'') are first-order administrative divisions of France, like the French regions, but have a semi-autonomous status. The COMs include some former French overseas colon ...

of New Caledonia. Vahaamahina's position is

Lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

and in 2014 played for

Clermont Auvergne Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne () is a French rugby union club from Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes that currently competes in Top 14, the top level of the French league system. Clermont are two times French ...

in the

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

. He began his career in New Caledonia and after moving to France, played with

Brive Brive-la-Gaillarde (; Limousin dialect of oc, Briva la Galharda) is a Communes of France, commune of France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture and the largest city of the Corrèze Departments of France, department. It has around ...

before moving to

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...

from 2011 to 2014. He was called up for

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

for the 2012 autumn internationals. Born to parents from the Wallis and Futuna Polynesian community in Noumea, Vahaamahina began his rugby career in New Caledonia, in the South Pacific before moving to mainland France.

International career

Vahaamahina represented France in the

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...

and scored their first try in the quarter-final against Wales, but was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

after elbowing Welsh player

Aaron Wainwright Aaron Wainwright (born 25 September 1997) is a Wales international rugby union player who plays for Dragons regional team as a flanker. Early life Wainwright originally looked destined for a career in football having been on the books of both C ...

in the head. Wales went on to win the match by a scoreline of 20-19. The day after the match he announced he would retire from international rugby.

International tries

References

1991 births Living people French rugby union players People from Nouméa French people of New Caledonian descent French people of Wallis and Futuna descent Rugby union players from Wallis and Futuna USA Perpignan players ASM Clermont Auvergne players Rugby union locks France international rugby union players {{France-rugbyunion-bio-stub