Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu (born 31 October 1980 in

Apia Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō'') of Tuamasaga. The Apia Urban A ...

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

) is a

Samoan Samoan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Samoan Islands, an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean ** Something of, from, or related to Samoa, a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands ** Something of, from, ...

former

rugby union footballer Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in England in the first hal ...

. He played at

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. During his career, he received considerably media attention for his constant criticism of the rugby establishment at what he perceived to be

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

post-colonialism Postcolonialism (also post-colonial theory) is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic consequences of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and exploitation of colonized people and thei ...

white supremacy White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...

and lack of accountability in rugby's governing bodies.

Early life and education

Fuimaono-Sapolu was born in Samoa and migrated to

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, with his parents, when he was three years old. He started off at schools in

Manurewa Manurewa is a suburb in South Auckland, New Zealand, located south of Manukau, Manukau Central, and southeast of the Auckland City Centre. It is home to the Auckland Botanic Gardens, which receives over a million visitors a year. Manurewa h ...

dominated by Pacific Island and Maori students. His family was very poor when they first arrived in New Zealand, living in a one-bedroom flat while both parents were studying. He moved to the prestigious

Auckland Grammar School Auckland Grammar School (often simplified to Auckland Grammar, or Grammar), established in 1869, is a State school, state, Day school, day and Boarding school, boarding secondary school for Single-sex education, boys in Auckland, New Zealand. ...

for high school, although not on a scholarship. He said he enjoyed school until he began asking questions about what he was learning. Fuimaono-Sapolu said although his awareness of racism had been growing during his schooling, it became much clearer at university, where he first learned about the

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...

Rugby career

Fuimaono-Sapolu first played club rugby as a junior for

RFC in

South Auckland South Auckland ( or ) is one of the major geographical regions of Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand. The area is south of the Auckland isthmus, and on the eastern shores of the Manukau Harbour. The area has been populated by Tāmaki M� ...

, New Zealand, where he received praise for his commitment, technique, and discipline. Fuimaono-Sapolu moved to England in January 2006, signed by Bath Rugby after impressive performances in the internationals against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

(his international debut for Samoa) and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He had initially been signed as a temporary replacement to cover for the players playing in the

Six Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Six Nations, branded as Guinness M6N) is an annual international rugby union competition by the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It is the oldest sports tournament conte ...

, but soon his contract was made permanent. Since arriving at Bath he has won the approval of many fans due to his exciting running and quick hands. More recently he displayed his all round ability in back play at the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup () was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by F ...

, in which he represented Samoa playing out of position at fly-half. Although his side lost to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and – surprisingly –

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

while beating only the

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in the pool stages of the tournament, Fuimaono-Sapolu was one of the standout performers. In the summer of 2009 Fuimaono-Sapolu left Bath to join Gloucester Rugby on a one-year contract that was later extended for two further seasons. In 2011 Eliota completed an impressive season by sweeping up all the club's major awards at the end of Season prize giving. He won Player of the year, Try of the Year, Player's Player of the year and Season Ticket Holder's Player of the year. In 2011 he was

shortlisted A short list or shortlist is a list of candidates for a job, prize, award, political position, etc., that has been reduced from a longer list of candidates (sometimes via intermediate lists known as "long lists"). The length of short lists varie ...

by the

Rugby Players' Association The Rugby Players' Association (RPA) is a trade union representing elite rugby rugby union players in England. The RPA is the representative body and collective voice of elite rugby players in England and represents more than 600 male and female c ...

for their Players' Player of the Year award alongside

Chris Ashton Christopher John Ashton (born 29 March 1987) is a retired English rugby union and former rugby league footballer, one of the few players who have represented England in both rugby codes. Ashton primarily played wing and secondarily played fu ...

Chris Budgen Chris Budgen is a retired rugby player. He played for Bridgend Ravens, Bridgend RFC from 1999 to 2001 then played the majority of his professional career for Exeter Chiefs and Northampton Saints in the Aviva Premiership. He made his debut for E ...

, Nick Evans, Thomas Waldrom and Tom Wood. In March 2012, it was announced Sapolu would leave Gloucester to sign with Japanese side

Coca-Cola West Red Sparks The Coca-Cola Red Sparks () was a Japanese company-owned rugby team based in Fukuoka city, Kyūshū. The team was initially founded as Kitakyushu Coca-Cola and then changed its name to Coca-Cola West Japan. The team won promotion to the expande ...

on a two-year contract. Fuimaono-Sapolu left the side after the 2014–2015 season, and retired from the game. He now works as a lawyer.

Playing style

Primarily a centre, Fuimaono-Sapolu was a powerful physical presence in the midfield. This, combined with a precise passing game and an acute rugby brain, made him a complete back. In 2011, while playing for Gloucester, a video of an outrageous dummy playing against the Newport-Gwent Dragons went viral.

Personal life and activism

Fuimaono-Sapolu is a qualified lawyer. He has been openly critical of the sporting elite, alleging racism in their attitude which "buys into the narrative of the savage Polynesian". Critical of the IRB handling of his comments in 2011 he said they just wouldn't tolerate a Polynesian speaking up. He's been vocal about racism in the sport of rugby union, and cites his time at

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

as an example. In 2011, after having a stellar season playing for the club, he was about to renegotiate the terms of his contract. However, he was told by the management that he couldn't be paid more than a Scottish player. In 2016, he criticised the appointment of renowned Sevens coach Sir Gordon Tietjens as the new head coach of the Samos Sevens team. He criticized Tietjens for not speaking the Samoan language, and for what he described as a lack of understanding of the country and its culture. He also questioned why rugby's eligibility rules were so tight for players and so loose for coaches. One of Fuimaono-Sapolu's dearest causes has been to fight racism in sport and education, and to support fellow Polynesians, specially the younger generations. He questioned the over commercialization of the All Blacks brand, stating that the All Blacks' identity "is stolen from Maori culture". Fuimaono-Sapolu has worked extensively to broaden popular knowledge of the contribution of Pacific Island culture and science. He moved to Samoa where he works on raising awareness of domestic abuse and misogyny.

Social media and controversies

Fuimaono-Sapolu's use of social media (specially Twitter) has repeatedly landed him in trouble with rugby's governing bodies. During the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup, was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The World Rugby, International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japa ...

, he made a Twitter post linking the scheduling of the World Cup to

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

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and apartheid, after Samoa had 3 days to prepare for their match against Wales national rugby union team, Wales, while Wales had a week to prepare. Officials that met with the Samoa team management accepted an official apology and decided that no further action was necessary. Later in the tournament when Samoa lost to South Africa, Fuimaono-Sapolu tweeted that referee Nigel Owens was "racist" and "biased", which resulted in him being suspended from rugby for six months. However, this punishment was suspended for two years after he retracted his comments, apologies to Owens, and served 100 hours of Rugby community work in Samoa. In 2011, he was handed a three-week ban by the Rugby Football Union after he criticized its disciplinary process, the Rugby World Cup and the International Rugby Board. He has also criticized other rugby players, officials, and World Rugby via Twitter. He has also been critical of the perceived lack of political engagement from professional rugby players, citing former All blacks, All Blacks captain Richie McCaw as someone who could have a big influence if he got behind social issues.

References

External links

ESPN Scrum Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuimaono-Sapolu, Eliota 1980 births Living people Samoan rugby union players 21st-century Samoan sportsmen Rugby union fly-halves Rugby union centres Bath Rugby players Gloucester Rugby players Samoa international rugby union players Samoan expatriate rugby union players in England Samoan expatriate rugby union players in Japan Samoan expatriate rugby union players in New Zealand Rugby union players from Apia 2007 Rugby World Cup players 2011 Rugby World Cup players People educated at Auckland Grammar School