Sam Matavesi (born 13 January 1992) 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 who plays for

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

in the 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 ...

competition as of the 2024-25 season, having departed

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. The club plays in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby union. It was formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. ...

with whom he spent 5 seasons. Lyon will be Matavesi's second stint with a Top 14 side, having already played for

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

earlier in his career. His position of choice is hooker even though he has played at Openside flanker and Number 8 for

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

Career

Sam is the younger brother of

Josh Matavesi Joshua Lewis Matavesi (born 5 October 1990) is a rugby union player, who currently plays for National 2 (West) side Camborne RFC, and formerly played for the Fiji national rugby union team, Fiji national team at international level. Matavesi was ...

. His father, Sireli Matavesi came to England in the 1980s from Fiji and never left. He played for

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, a team his 3 sons also played for. Sam also works for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, working out of the

RNAS Culdrose Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose (RNAS Culdrose, also known as HMS ''Seahawk''; International Civil Aviation Organization airport code, ICAO: EGDR) is a Royal Navy Military airbase, airbase located beside the town of Helston, situated on the L ...

as well as playing for their rugby union team. He made his debut 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 ...

against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in the

2013 IRB Pacific Nations Cup The 2013 Pacific Nations Cup rugby union tournament was held between five national sides in the Pacific Region: Canada, Fiji, Japan, Tonga, and USA. Samoa were the reigning champion after they defeated Fiji in the 2012 competition but took the y ...

off the bench at Number 8. In December 2019, Matavesi joins

in the

Premiership Rugby Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition, consisting of 10 clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby ...

with immediate effect from the 2019-20 season.

References

External links

* Fijian rugby union players 1992 births Living people Rugby union hookers Rugby union flankers Rugby union number eights Cornish Pirates players Stade Toulousain players Fiji international rugby union players 2019 Rugby World Cup players 2023 Rugby World Cup players Fijian expatriate rugby union players in France Fijian expatriate rugby union players in England 21st-century Fijian sportsmen {{Fiji-rugbyunion-bio-stub