Metuisela Talebula (born 20 May 1991) is a Fijian rugby union footballer. He plays fullback, fly-half and wing for

Bordeaux Bègles Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

and

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

International

Talebula was selected to play for the Fiji Juniors to the

2011 IRB Junior World Championship The 2011 IRB Junior World Championship was the fourth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams, this competition replaced the now defunct under 19 and under 21 world championships. The event was organised by rugby' ...

in Italy. He scored three tries in the tournament and also helped Fiji finish in their best position at sixth. He joined the Fiji Sevens team and helped the Fiji team lift the

2011 Gold Coast Sevens The 2011 Gold Coast Sevens was the first tournament of the 2011-2012 Sevens World Series It was held over the weekend of 25–26 November 2011 at Robina Stadium (known for sponsorship reasons as Skilled Park) in Queensland, Australia. The tourna ...

cup title. During the

2011–12 IRB Sevens World Series The 2011–12 IRB Sevens World Series, known for sponsorship reasons as the HSBC Sevens World Series, was the 13th annual series of the IRB Sevens World Series tournaments for full national sides run by the International Rugby Board since 1999� ...

, he also helped Fiji lift two more titles by winning the

2012 Hong Kong Sevens The 2012 Hong Kong Sevens was the 37th edition of the Hong Kong Sevens tournament and the sixth tournament of the 2011–12 IRB Sevens World Series. The host stadium was the Hong Kong Stadium. Fiji won the title by defeating New Zealand 35–28 ...

where he was the top point scorer collecting 52 points and

2012 London Sevens The 2012 London Sevens was the sixth edition of the tournament and the ninth tournament of the 2011–12 IRB Sevens World Series. The host stadium was the Twickenham Stadium. Fiji won the title by defeating Samoa 38–15 in the final. Format ...

. In the

2012 Scotland Sevens The 2012 Scotland Sevens was the sixth edition of the tournament previously known as the Edinburgh Sevens. It was the eighth tournament within the 2011–12 IRB Sevens World Series. The host stadium was the Scotstoun Stadium. New Zealand won th ...

he was also awarded the top scorer scoring 88 points including joint top-try scorer with eight tries. Altogether, Talebula scored 271 points in that season which includes 25 tries. He joined the

senior team right after the final leg of the Sevens series. He was included in the Fiji team for the

2012 IRB Pacific Nations Cup The 2012 Pacific Nations Cup rugby union tournament was held between the four national sides on the Pacific Rim: Fiji, Japan, Samoa and Tonga. Japan were the reigning champion after they defeated Fiji in the 2011 competition at Churchill Park, ...

. Talebula made his debut for Fiji 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 ...

at Churchill Park in Lautoka on 16 June 2012. He came off the bench in the 60th minute as a full-back replacement for

Waisea Nayacalevu Waisea Nayacalevu Vuidravuwalu (born 26 June 1990) is a Fijian professional rugby union player who plays as a centre for Premiership Rugby club Sale Sharks and captains the Fiji national team. Club career Waisea, along with his brother, Ave ...

and after a brilliant counter by winger, Isimeli Koniferedi, he scored an individual try. He played his next test on the same ground starting at fullback. He scored two tries and kicked a conversion in their win against

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 ...

. He was selected in the Fiji 15's team to the

2012 end-of-year rugby union tests The 2012 autumn internationals, also known as the autumn tests, November tests and, in the Southern Hemisphere, the end of year tests, were international rugby union matches. They were predominantly played between visiting Southern Hemisphere coun ...

with tests against

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. In summer 2013, Talebula led the Fiji Sevens team to a third place during the Sevens World Cup 2013 being the top try scorer of the tournament with 7 tries and finishing second on the point scorer list with 43 points. At the end of 2013, Talebula was selected for the Autumn internationals including games against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and the

Barbarians A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...

. Unfortunately, he missed both the first game against

(due to an injury) and the one against the

(game with Bordeaux). However, he scored a try in each of the other two games starting at fullback. In 2014, Talebula has been included in the Fijian squad playing

(

2014 mid-year rugby union tests The 2014 mid-year rugby union internationals (also known as the summer internationals in the Northern Hemisphere) were international rugby union matches mostly played in the Southern Hemisphere during the June international window. These matches w ...

), the

Pacific Nations Cup The Pacific Nations Cup is an international rugby union competition held between Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Canada, Japan and the United States. First held in 2006, the tournament is intended to strengthen the Tier 2 rugby teams by providing competitiv ...

and the World Cup Qualifier against the

Cook Islands The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...

Club

In June 2012 Talebula signed a contract with French

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 ...

side

. In his first season, he has played 22 games for them scoring 43 points including eight tries. During the Top 14 season (2013–14) Talebula managed to top the try scoring list with some great indidividual efforts leaving some of the world's best wingers behind. His 15 tries in 23 appearances brought UBB close to the playoffs although it wasn't enough in the end. In autumn 2013 he extended his contract with UBB until 2015 against some expectations that he would join one of the European top clubs at the end of the season.

External links

Fiji Rugby Profile of Metuisela Talebula

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Talebula, Metuisela 1991 births Living people Rugby union players from Lautoka Fijian rugby union players Fiji international rugby union players Fijian expatriate rugby union players in France Union Bordeaux Bègles players Rugby union wings Rugby union fly-halves Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union centres Male rugby sevens players 2015 Rugby World Cup players 21st-century Fijian sportsmen