Vaea Fifita
Vaea Tangitau Lapota Fifita (born 17 June 1992) is a Tongan rugby union player who currently plays for the Scarlets. Previously he was a lock or loose forward for the in the international Super Rugby competition, and for in the Mitre 10 Cup. Fifita has played 12 tests for New Zealand at international level, earning his first test cap against Samoa in 2017. In 2022, following changes to the eligibility rules, he played his first match for Tonga. His elder brother Leva Fifita is also a professional rugby union player who also plays international rugby for Tonga. Early life Born and raised on the Tongan island of Vava'u, Fifita attended Tonga College on the larger island of Tongatapu and while there earned selection for the Tonga Schools side ahead of their tour to New Zealand. Impressive displays against New Zealand and Australia Secondary Schools Teams brought him to the attention of Tamaki College who offered him a rugby scholarship. After graduating high school, Fifi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vavaʻu
Vavau is an island group, consisting of one large island ( ʻUtu Vavaʻu) and 40 smaller ones, in Tonga. It is part of Vavaʻu District, which includes several other individual islands. According to tradition, the Maui god created both Tongatapu and Vavau, but put a little more effort into the former. Vavau rises above sea level at Mount Talau. The capital is Neiafu, situated at the Port of Refuge (Puatalefusi or Lolo-a-Halaevalu). History Myths and legends In Polynesia, it is said that the islands were created by the god Maui, who reached into the bottom of the sea with his magic hook, caught something on it, and pulled it up to the sea surface, and it became the islands of Vavau. Recorded history Don Francisco Mourelle de la Rúa, commanding the Spanish frigate ''Princesa'', was the first European to come to Vavau, which he did on 4 March 1781. He charted Vavaʻu as ''Martín de Mayorga'', naming it after the man who was the Viceroy of New Spain at that time. Captai ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Number Eight (rugby Union)
In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16–23. Players are not restricted to a single position, although they generally specialise in just one or two that suit their skills and body types. Players that play multiple positions are called "utility players". Forwards compete for the ball in scrums and line-outs and are generally bigger and stronger than the backs. Props push in the scrums, while the hooker tries to secure the ball for their team by "hooking" it back with their heel. The hooker is also the one who is responsible for throwing the ball in at line-outs, where it is mostly competed for by the locks, who are generally the tallest players on the team. The flankers and number eight are expected to be the first players to arrive at a breakdown and play an important role in se ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jordie Barrett
Jordan Matthew Barrett (born 17 February 1997) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a utility back internationally for New Zealand's All Blacks, and for the Hurricanes in the Super Rugby competition. Having previously been an apprentice for the All Black squad in 2016, Barrett was first selected for New Zealand in 2017, making his debut against Samoa in a warm-up test prior to the British & Irish Lions series. Barrett has previously represented New Zealand at age-grade level, being a part of the 2016 under-20 side that took part at the World Championships in England. He also represents Taranaki at provincial level, previously playing for Canterbury during their 2016 Ranfurly Shield tenure, as they became Mitre 10 Cup champions. He was the winner of the Duane Monkley Medal for the Mitre 10 Cup Player of the Year in 2016, and was also New Zealand's age-grade player of the year that year. He was named over Taranaki Sportsperson of the Year at the Taranaki Spo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kieran Read
Kieran James Read (born 26 October 1985) is a New Zealand former rugby union player. He played as a number 8 and is a former captain of the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks. Read played for New Zealand from 2008 to 2019. He is one of the most-capped players of all time, and the forth-most-capped All Black in history, having played 128 tests, scoring 26 international tries. Read captained New Zealand 52 times. He was the IRB Player of the Year in 2013 and a key member of New Zealand's 2011 and 2015 World Cup-winning teams, becoming one of only 20 players to have won multiple Rugby World Cups. Read played for the in the Super Rugby competition, and played for and in the Mitre 10 Cup, before spending his final season in Japan with Toyota Verblitz. Early life Read played his childhood rugby in the small town of Drury in the Counties Manukau region, just south of Auckland. He attended Opaheke Primary where his mother taught and Rosehill College, with a one-ye ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Scott Barrett (rugby Union)
Scott Kevin Barrett (born 20 November 1993) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a lock for the in Super Rugby and Taranaki in the Mitre 10 Cup. Barrett was chosen as the Crusaders' Captain for the 2020 Super Rugby season. Barrett was first selected for New Zealand's international team, the All Blacks, in 2016 and has played 36 tests for New Zealand since his debut, against Ireland. Early life Raised in a rugby household, where older brothers Beauden and Kane, as well as younger brother Jordie, also went on to become professional rugby players, Scott Barrett cut his teeth playing for Francis Douglas Memorial College in his native New Plymouth. Barrett's older brother Beauden and younger brother Jordie are his current All Black team-mates. Playing career Early career Barrett was a member of the New Zealand Under 20 team which participated in the 2013 IRB Junior World Championship in France, where he made 3 appearances in total. Barrett got his ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Luke Romano
Luke Romano (born 16 February 1986) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer who plays as a lock for the Blues in Super Rugby and Canterbury in the Mitre 10 Cup. He played for the All Blacks from 2012 - 2017 and was a key member of 2015 Rugby World Cup winning team. Career Romano is a New Zealand international, making his debut on 23 June 2012 in a 60–0 win against Ireland in Hamilton. He currently has over 30 caps and has scored 2 tries. Romano was a regular starter for the early stages of his international career, but missed many opportunities to play through injuries which saw his starting spot taken by Brodie Retallick. Romano only played one international match in 2014, a 24-16 victory over Scotland off the bench. Romano's return from injury in 2015 saw him named in the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Romano earned starts against Namibia and Tonga in the tournament, with both fixtures being victories for New Zealand. Romano had good form throughout Super Rugby in 2016, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sam Whitelock
Samuel Lawrence Whitelock (born 12 October 1988) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays as a lock for the Crusaders in Super Rugby and Canterbury in the Mitre 10 Cup. Whitelock has captained the Crusaders, and New Zealand in five international games. Whitelock has played over 100 tests for New Zealand since his debut in 2010 and is the youngest New Zealander to reach 100 tests. He is the fastest player ever to reach 100 international appearances, achieving the feat eight years and two months after his test debut. Whitelock was the winner of New Zealand Rugby Player of the Year in 2017. He has formed a renowned locking combination with Brodie Retallick; Whitelock and Retallick have played 50 tests together since 2012. He was a key member of the 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cup-winning teams, becoming one of only 20 players who have won the Rugby World Cup more than once. Playing career Early career Whitelock was part of the World championship winning team, the Baby A ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2016 Mitre 10 Cup
The 2016 Mitre 10 Cup season was the eleventh season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on August 18, when North Harbour hosted Counties Manukau. It involved the top fourteen rugby unions of New Zealand. For sponsorship reasons, the competition was known as the Mitre 10 Cup and it was the first season under the lead sponsor. The winner of the Championship, North Harbour was promoted to the Premiership, the seventh placed Premiership team, Hawke's Bay was relegated to the Championship. Format The Mitre 10 Cup standings were sorted by a competition points system. Four points were awarded to the winning team, a draw equaled two points, whilst a loss amounted to zero points. Unions could also win their side a respectable bonus point. To receive a bonus point, they must have scored four tries or more or lose by seven or fewer points or less. Each team was placed on their total points received. If nec ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Michael Fatialofa
Michael Fatialofa (born 14 September 1992) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a lock for Worcester Warriors in the Premiership. Early career Born in Auckland, Fatialofa was educated at Mount Albert Grammar School in his hometown where he played first XV rugby for 3 years and helped them to lift the Auckland Schools title in 2010. Rated as one of the top New Zealand lock prospects at the time, it came as something of a surprise when he opted to move to the country's far south to play club rugby with the Blues in Southland after he'd finished high school. Senior career He spent the first 4 years of his senior career playing provincial rugby for with whom he racked up 36 appearances. His first season with the Stags saw him play 3 times as they were relegated from the ITM Cup Premiership. The men from Invercargill finished 4th on the Championship log for the next three seasons which saw them qualify for the promotion playoffs, however, each time the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2016 Super Rugby Season
The 2016 Super Rugby season was the 21st season of Super Rugby and the first season featuring an expanded 18-team format. It was also the first season that teams outside Australia, New Zealand and South Africa featured, with the Jaguares from Argentina and the Sunwolves from Japan taking part. This season also saw the return of the Kings, who competed just once before, in the 2013 Super Rugby season. The round-robin games took place every weekend from 26 February to 16 July 2016 (with a break for international matches during June), followed by the finals series at the end of July and culminating in the final on 6 August. The Hurricanes won their first championship after repeating their efforts of 2015 by finishing first in the regular season and hosting the final at Westpac Stadium, but this time they won, beating the Lions 20–3. Unlike 2015, where the Hurricanes looked likely to finish the regular season first with a number of rounds to go, they were sitting in seventh goin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2015 Super Rugby
The 2015 Super Rugby season was the 20th season of Super Rugby and the fifth season featuring an expanded 15-team format. For sponsorship reasons, this competition was known as Asteron Life Super Rugby in Australia, Investec Super Rugby in New Zealand and Vodacom Super Rugby in South Africa. The round-robin matches took place every weekend from 13 February until 13 June, followed by the finals series and culminating in the final on 4 July. This was the final season that featured a 15-team format. Competition format Covering 21 weeks, the schedule featured a total of 125 matches. The 15 teams were grouped geographically, labelled the Australian Conference, New Zealand Conference and the South African Conference. The regular season consisted of two types of matches: * Internal Conference Matches – Each team played the other four teams in the same conference twice, home and away. * Cross Conference Matches – Each team played four teams of the other two conferences away, and four ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2014 ITM Cup
Fourteen or 14 may refer to: * 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15 * one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014 Music * 14th (band), a British electronic music duo * ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013 *''14'', an unreleased album by Charli XCX * "14" (song), 2007, from ''Courage'' by Paula Cole Other uses * ''Fourteen'' (film), a 2019 American film directed by Dan Sallitt * ''Fourteen'' (play), a 1919 play by Alice Gerstenberg * ''Fourteen'' (manga), a 1990 manga series by Kazuo Umezu * ''14'' (novel), a 2013 science fiction novel by Peter Clines * ''The 14'', a 1973 British drama film directed by David Hemmings * Fourteen, West Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community * Lot Fourteen, redevelopment site in Adelaide, South Australia, previously occupied by the Royal Adelaide Hospital * "The Fourteen", a nickname for NASA Astronaut Group 3 * Fourteen Words, a phrase used by white supremacists and Nazis See also * 1/4 (other) * ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |