Michael Tagicakibau (born 9 May 1985) is a Fijian

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player and coach. His usual position was on the

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

. He is the brother of former

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 ...

international winger Sailosi Tagicakibau. but unlike his brother Michael played internationally for

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 ...

Career

Tagicakibau played in the Air NZ Cup for

Taranaki Taranaki is a regions of New Zealand, region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano Mount Taranaki, Taranaki Maunga, formerly known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the ...

before attending the trials for the

Flying Fijians The Fiji national rugby union team represents Fiji in men's international rugby union. Fiji competed in the Pacific Tri-Nations and now competes in its successor tournament Pacific Nations Cup. Fiji also regularly plays test matches during the ...

in 2007. He was part of the Fiji squad for the 2007 Pacific Nations Cup and made his debut 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 ...

in June 2007 at

Churchill Park, Lautoka Churchill Park is a multi-purpose stadium in Lautoka, Fiji. It is currently used mostly for football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sp ...

and though he did not make the squad for 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 ...

, he impressed the

London Welsh London Welsh Rugby Football Club () was a rugby union club formed in 1885. Based in Old Deer Park, Richmond-upon-Thames, London Welsh RFC played in the English Premiership in the 2012–13 and 2014–15 seasons, after gaining promotion from ...

team who he joined in February 2008. In 2008 he moved to

London Welsh RFC London Welsh Rugby Football Club () was a rugby union club formed in 1885. Based in Old Deer Park, Richmond-upon-Thames, London Welsh RFC played in the English Premiership in the 2012–13 and 2014–15 seasons, after gaining promotion from ...

National League 1 National One, up until 2023 known as National League 1 and previously known before September 2009 as National Division Two), is the third of three national leagues in the domestic rugby union competition of England. It was known as Courage Lea ...

and after an impressive first full season in English rugby, Saracens' then-Director of Rugby

Brendan Venter Brendan Venter (born 29 December 1969) is a South African rugby union coach and former player. Venter played at Centre (rugby union), centre and earned 17 caps for South Africa national rugby union team, South Africa between 1994 and 1999. He p ...

signed him up for the 2009/10 season. He also played for

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

. He played with the English club,

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

until July 2014. and later with

Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby c ...

. Tagicakibau also played for the professional Italian team Benetton Treviso. In 2018 he signed to play for Manawatu in the

Mitre 10 Cup The mitre (Commonwealth English) or miter (American English; see spelling differences; both pronounced ; ) is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in traditional Christianity. Mi ...

and played 4 games for the union. In 2024 Tagicakibau coached Kia Toa to win the Manawatu rugby union's Hankins Shield Senior A Club competition.

External links

Fiji profile

Saracens profile

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tagicakibau, Michael 1985 births Fijian rugby union players Living people Rugby union wings Saracens F.C. players Scarlets players Fiji international rugby union players New Zealand people of I-Taukei Fijian descent New Zealand people of Fijian descent New Zealand expatriate rugby union players Fijian expatriate rugby union players in England New Zealand expatriate rugby league players in England Taranaki rugby union players Rugby union players from Auckland 2011 Rugby World Cup players Benetton Rugby players Fijian expatriate rugby union players in Italy People educated at Wesley College, Auckland