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

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 tourn ...

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 2011–12 IRB Sevens World Series, known for sponsorship r ...

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 Fiji 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 P ...

. Talebula made his debut for Fiji against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

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 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 ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

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

2012 end-of-year rugby union tests 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

with tests against

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

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

. 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 The autumn internationals, November internationals, end-of-year tests, and spring internationals/tour for Australia and New Zealand, are men's rugby union Test matches that are contested around November each year. It is organised by World Rugby. T ...

including games against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

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

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less ...

. 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 ...

), the

Pacific Nations Cup The Pacific Nations Cup is an international rugby union competition held between three Pacific states: Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. The 2019 edition of the tournament will also include the national teams of Canada, Japan and United States. First he ...

and the World Cup Qualifier against the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , langu ...

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 French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

side Bordeaux Bègles. 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 Sportspeople from Lautoka Fijian rugby union players Fiji international rugby union players Fijian expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in France Fijian expatriate sportspeople in France Union Bordeaux Bègles players Rugby union wings Rugby union fly-halves Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union centres Male rugby sevens players