Sinali Latu (born in Tonga in 1965) is a retired

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 ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese rugby union player.Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Complete Book of Rugby'' (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 ), p70 He played in

for

Sanyo is a former Japanese electronics manufacturer founded in 1947 by Toshio Iue, the brother-in-law of Kōnosuke Matsushita, the founder of Matsushita Electric Industrial, now known as Panasonic. Iue left Matsushita Electric to start his own bu ...

and also played for the

Japan national rugby union team The Japan national rugby union team, also known as the Cherry Blossoms, the Brave Blossoms (), or simply Sakura, represents Japan in men's international rugby union. Japan is traditionally the strongest rugby union power in Asia and has enjoyed ...

. Now he coaches the

Daito Bunka University is a private university with two campuses: one at Itabashi in Tokyo and the other at Higashi Matsuyama in Saitama, Japan. The university is known for its sports program, which is renowned in rugby and distance running, with the Ekiden team c ...

rugby team. Since he acquired the Japanese citizenship, he changed his full name to . He is the founder of the

non-profit organisation A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

Japan-Tonga Friendship Association. He was nicknamed "Bill" (ビル) during his playing career in Japan. Viliami Sinali Latu played for Tonga's national side while attending Tonga College at the age of 19. He moved to study and play in Japan with a Tonga College school mate, Uatesoni Namoa. Latu played for at three

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

s, in

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

and in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

Family

Latu's younger brother, Tevita Latu, played sevens for Tonga while studying in Tonga College in 2000 before moving to

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 ...

. The youngest of the Latu brothers, Kilifi, has captained the Tongan sevens team and played rugby in

, together with his older brothers Penieli and Langakali, and in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Penieli played for

in the 1995 World Cup. The Latu brothers all studied at Tonga College. They all played for

South Canterbury South Canterbury is the area of the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand bounded by the Rangitata River in the north and the Waitaki River (the border with the Otago Region) to the south. The Pacific Ocean and ridge of the S ...

's Celtic Rugby Club.

References

External links

* 1965 births Living people Tongan rugby union players Tongan rugby union coaches Japanese rugby union players Japanese rugby union coaches Tongan emigrants to Japan Naturalized citizens of Japan Japan international rugby union players Tongan expatriate rugby union players in Japan Saitama Wild Knights players Rugby union players from Haʻapai Japan international rugby sevens players Tonga international rugby union players Naturalised rugby union players 1987 Rugby World Cup players 1991 Rugby World Cup players 1995 Rugby World Cup players Rugby union number eights {{Japan-rugbyunion-bio-stub