Brent Liufau (born March 21, 2004) is a French rugby union player who primarily occupies the positions of Number 8 or lock for

Section Paloise Section Paloise (), often referred to simply as la Section or Pau (), is a professional rugby union club based in Pau, France. They are participants in the Top 14, France's premier rugby division, and also compete in the EPCR Challenge Cup. The ...

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 National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also ...

competition. Lifau achieved victory in the

2023 World Rugby U20 Championship The 2023 World Rugby U20 Championship was the 13th edition of the premier age-grade rugby union competition. The tournament is hosted in South Africa for the second time, previously being held in 2012. The 2023 under 20 competition (alongside ...

as a member of the France national under-20 team.

Biography

Early life and education

Brent Liufau was born on in

Wallis and Futuna Wallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands (), is a French island territorial collectivity, collectivity in the Oceania, South Pacific, situated between Tuvalu to the northwest, Fiji to the southwest, Tonga t ...

, later relocating to

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

, where he commenced his rugby career at CREC

Nouméa Nouméa () is the capital and largest city of the French Sui generis collectivity, special collectivity of New Caledonia and is also the largest Francophone city in Oceania. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main i ...

. In 2020, he signed with

and joined the

club at the end of the 2020–21 season.

Professional career

Brent Liufau became part of Section Paloise's professional squad from the 2022-2023 season onwards. In April 2022, he earned selection for the France national under-18 team initially. He made his professional debut in the ECPR Challenge Cup in December 2022, aged eighteen, starting as a Number 8. In January 2023, he was called up for the

Six Nations Under 20s Championship The Six Nations Under 20s Championship is an international rugby union tournament. It is the under-20s equivalent of the Six Nations Championship. Originally the tournament was in an under-21 format but changed to under-20s in 2008. England ...

. He started as a lock in the first two matches, scoring a try against

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, and made substitute appearances in the last two matches, with

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

finishing as runners-up. In May, he extended his contract with the club until June 2027. In June 2023, he was named in the squad for the

alongside three other Section players:

Théo Attissogbé Theo is a given name and a hypocorism. Greek origin Many names beginning with the root ''Theo-'' derive from the Ancient Greek word (), which means God, for example: *Feminine names: Thea, Theodora, Theodosia, Theophania, Theophano and Theox ...

Clément Mondinat Clément Mondinat (born 29 October 2003) is a French rugby union player who plays as a Fly-half for Pau in the Top 14 and represents the France U20 team. He made his Top 14 debut with Pau on 1 October 2022. Playing Career Early Years Cl ...

, and

Hugo Auradou Hugo Auradou (born 20 July 2003) is a French rugby union player who plays as a lock for Pau in the Top 14 competition and the France national team. He made his Top 14 debut with his club on 22 December 2022. Playing career Early career ...

. He started as a lock alongside his

teammate

in the opening match against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, scoring a try. In the second pool match against the Baby Blacks, Liufau played alongside

Posolo Tuilagi Posolo Tuilagi (born 28 July 2004) is a professional rugby union player, who plays as a lock for Top 14 club Perpignan. Born in Samoa, he qualified for France through residency, having lived in Pyrénées-Orientales since the age of 3, and has ...

and scored another try. At the end of the tournament, he was part of the victorious French team, defeating

in the final with a scoreline of 50-14, where he featured as a substitute. Brent Liufau commenced the 2022-2023 season buoyed by his junior world championship title earned during the summer. However, he encountered a series of injuries. Following a knee injury during summer preparations, he returned to the squad to face

RC Toulon Rugby Club Toulonnais (), also referred to as Rugby Club Toulon or simply Toulon, is a French professional rugby union club based in Toulon and competing in the Top 14. Located on the French Riviera, in the Provence region, the club plays its h ...

in December 2024, before playing 75 minutes against the

Sharks Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...

due to Guillaume Ducat's injury during the match. Scheduled to start the subsequent Challenge Cup match against

Dragons RFC Dragons RFC () are one of the four professional rugby union regional teams in Wales. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup/ European Rugby Challenge Cup. They play their home games at Rodney Parade, ...

, he suffered a fracture and dislocation in his ankle during warm-up, severely jeopardizing the remainder of his season.

Personal life

Brent Liufau was born in

and grew up in

Honours

; International 1×

World Rugby U20 Championship The World Rugby Under 20 Championship (known as the IRB Junior World Championship until 2014) is an annual international rugby union competition. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, World Rugby World Rugby is the governing ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liufau, Brent 2004 births Living people Rugby union players from Pyrénées-Atlantiques French rugby union players Rugby union locks Section Paloise players 21st-century French sportsmen