Tangaki Taulupe Faletau (born 12 November 1990), commonly known as Toby Faletau but professionally as Taulupe Faletau, is a Welsh professional

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 for Cardiff Rugby in the

United Rugby Championship The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in ...

and has represented the national team for over 10 years. The back row forward played for

Cross Keys RFC Cross Keys RFC () is a rugby union club located in the Wales, Welsh village of Crosskeys. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union, and is a feeder club for the Dragons (rugby union), Dragons regional team. History The club achieved first ...

Newport RFC Newport Rugby Football Club () is a Welsh rugby union club based in the city of Newport, Wales. They presently play in the Super Rygbi Cymru. Until 2021 Newport RFC were based at Rodney Parade situated on the east bank of the River Usk. Ever ...

and Newport Gwent Dragons in Wales before joining

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

in England in 2016. He joined present club Cardiff in 2022.

Early life

Faletau was born in

Tofoa Tongatapu is the main island of Tonga and the site of its capital, Nukuʻalofa, Nukualofa. It is located in Tonga's southern island group, to which it gives its name, and is the country's most populous island, with 74,611 residents (2016), 70.5% o ...

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 ...

, to Tongan international Kuli Faletau, who represented

at the

1999 Rugby World Cup The 1999 Rugby World Cup () was the fourth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial international rugby union championship. It was the first Rugby World Cup to be held in the sport's History of rugby union#The professional era, professional era. Four a ...

; he started his career at prop but was later moved to number 8. Kuli moved to Wales in 1997 to join

Ebbw Vale Ebbw Vale (; ) is a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River in Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough. The Ebbw Vale and Brynmawr conurbation has a ...

. Taulupe attended Pontygof Primary School until 1999 and then Pontnewynydd Primary School until July 2002, then attended Trevethin Community School, then attended Filton College (now part of South Gloucestershire and Stroud College) as part of the college's successful rugby academy and was recognised as 'player of the year' during his time at the college. As a young boy, his school friends struggled to pronounce his Tongan name, and so he picked up the nickname Toby. In recent years, he has requested that his rugby squad name be recorded more accurately as Taulupe, but does not mind being called Toby.

Early career

Faletau spent time during the 2009/2010 season on loan at both

where he made 11 appearances scoring 2 tries, and

where he made 2 appearances. Faletau spent his early years in Wales playing for Ebbw Vale RFC and

New Panteg RFC New Panteg Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team from the village of New Inn, in Pontypool, Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the no ...

juniors alongside

Mako , better known by the mononym name Mako (sometimes stylised MAKO), is a Japanese Voice acting in Japan, voice actress, singing, singer and a member of the band Bon-Bon Blanco, in which her prominent role is as the maraca player. She has also perf ...

and Billy Vunipola until youth level, when he moved to Filton College, Bristol, to experience the English game. Prior to his move across the border, he had suffered several setbacks from both the Gwent District organisation and the Newport Gwent Dragons Regional. Faletau made his debut for the Newport Gwent Dragons senior team, on 1 November 2009, versus

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. On 22 December 2009, he was named in the Wales under-20 Squad for the 2010 Under-20 Six Nations tournament. In May 2010, he was selected for the Wales Under 20 Squad for the Junior World Cup in Argentina in June 2010.

Club career

Faletau played a significant role in Newport Gwent Dragons's run to the semi-finals of the 2014–15 European Rugby Challenge Cup, playing in seven of their eight games during the competition until they were eventually knocked out by

. It was confirmed on 9 December 2015 that, after months of speculation, Faletau would be joining English Premiership side

Bath Rugby Bath Rugby is a professional rugby union club in Bath, Somerset, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Founded in 1865 as Bath Football Club, since 1894 the club has played at the Recreation Ground, Bath, Rec ...

in time for the 2016–17 season. On 5 November 2021, it was confirmed that Faletau would return to Wales to join

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

in the

ahead of the 2022-23 season.

International career

He was first called up to the Wales senior squad on 1 November 2010 following the withdrawal of Ryan Jones and Rob McCusker. In January 2011, he was included in the

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

squad for the 2011 Six Nations Championship. He made his full international debut for Wales versus the Barbarians on 4 June 2011. In August 2011, he was named in the Wales squad for the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup, was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The World Rugby, International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japa ...

in New Zealand. On 11 September 2011, he made his World Cup debut for Wales against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, scoring his first international try in the second half, adding another in the game against Namibia. He finished the tournament as the top tackler and ball carrier, the first time a single player has ever topped both tables. He was the only player to start all seven of Wales' games. He then appeared in all five matches of Wales' Grand Slam-winning 2012 Six Nations Championship campaign, excelling throughout the championship and making many pundits' team of the tournament. In May 2012, Faletau was announced in the Wales squad for the three test series against Australia, but he had to withdraw from the squad after suffering a broken hand in the first test in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. Faletau also played all five games in Wales'

2013 Six Nations Championship The 2013 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2013 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 14th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship ...

victory, including the 30–3 win over England in the final match. In April 2013, Faletau was named in the squad for the 2013 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia. After failing to feature in the first two tests, Faletau was named at number 8 in the final test ahead of

Jamie Heaslip James Heaslip (born 15 December 1983) is an Irish people, Irish former rugby union player who represented Leinster Rugby, Leinster, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland and the British & Irish Lions. He played as a Number 8 (rugby union), ...

. The Welshman was impressive, as the Lions beat Australia 41–16 securing their first test series win since 1997. During the same summer, it was announced that Faletau had signed a new three-year deal to remain at the Dragons region until 2016. Faletau continued to represent Wales in the November 2013 Autumn Series, scoring his third test try against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

in a man of the match performance. On 20 January 2014, Faletau was included in the 32-man Wales squad for the 2014 Six Nations Championship. He started all five games and scored a try in a 51–3 thrashing of

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 ...

on 15 March, as Wales finished the campaign in 3rd. On 30 May 2014, Faletau was named in the 32-man squad for the mid-year test series against South Africa after playing in a "Possibles vs Probables" match at the

Liberty Stadium The Swansea.com Stadium (; formerly Liberty Stadium) is an all-seated multi-use sports stadium and conferencing venue located in the Landore area of Swansea, Wales, hosting both rugby union and football. The stadium opened in 2005 and was name ...

, in which he played on the Probables team, which won 55–7. He started both tests on the tour including the narrow 31–30-second test defeat, in which Wales lost after conceding a last minute penalty try. On 21 October 2014, Faletau was included in the Wales squad for the 2014 Autumn Series, starting all 4 games including a historic victory over

in the final test on 29 November. Faletau played every minute of Wales' 2015 Six Nations campaign, which included the Round 4 23–16 victory against

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 ...

in which Wales made a massive 250 tackles to deny the Irish a grand slam, and the final round 61–20 thrashing of

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 ...

, which left Ireland needing to win their game against Scotland by 17 points or more to clinch the championship, which they did. In advance of the game against Italy in the 2015 Six Nations campaign, the Welsh Rugby Union confirmed that Faletau wished to be known by his birth name, Taulupe Faletau. Faletau was selected for the

2015 Rugby World Cup The IRB 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was ...

later that year as part of Wales' 31-man squad. Faletau started in the quarter-final against South Africa on 17 October 2015 and was not subbed off, but Wales unluckily lost to South Africa 19–23, being knocked out of the competition. Faletau and his childhood friends,

and Billy Vunipola, were selected for the British & Irish Lions for their 2017 tour to New Zealand. However, Billy withdrew from the touring squad due to injury, leaving Faletau, as well as his brother to head off on their second Lions tour without him. Vunipola's injury went on to benefit Faletau, as he started the first match on tour, winning Man of the Match against the

New Zealand Barbarians The New Zealand Barbarian Rugby Club Inc., nicknamed the ''Barbarians'', or ''Baa-Baas'', is a rugby union club headquartered in Kingsland, New Zealand, Kingsland, Auckland. The idea came from the concept of the Barbarian F.C. The Barbarians pla ...

on 3 June 2017. Faletau went on to start in wins against the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...

and the

Māori All Blacks The Māori All Blacks, previously called the New Zealand Maori, New Zealand Maoris and New Zealand Natives, are a rugby union team from New Zealand. They are a representative team of the New Zealand Rugby Union, and a prerequisite for playing is ...

, playing the full 80 minutes in both. Standout performances across the tour allowed Faletau a starting place in all three tests against the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

. On 1 July 2017, Faletau scored the opening try of the second test against the All Blacks in the 59th minute, barging over All Blacks back Israel Dagg to score. Faletau's try inspired a late comeback from the Lions, with both teams down to 14 players, and the Lions went on to make a historic win over the All Blacks that day, beating them 24–21. Faletau finished the 1-1 drawn series without being subbed off for the whole Lions tour and played the most minutes of anyone on tour. On 11 March 2018, in Wales' match against

, in the fifth round of the 2018 Six Nations Championship, Faletau was appointed as captain of the Welsh team for the first time in his career, becoming the 131st player to become captain of Wales' international rugby team. This marked a return from injury for Faletau, who played the full 80 minutes as Wales beat Italy 38–14. In February 2025, having not played for Wales since 2023 Rugby World Cup due to a series of injuries, Faletau returned to the starting lineup for the second round of the 2025 Six Nations against

International tries

Wales

British & Irish Lions

References

External links

*
Newport Gwent Dragons profileWales profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Faletau, Taulupe 1990 births Living people Rugby union players from Tongatapu Bath Rugby players Taulupe Faletau Welsh rugby union players Wales international rugby union players Tongan rugby union players Tongan emigrants to Wales Welsh people of Tongan descent Dragons RFC players 21st-century Welsh sportsmen British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales Rugby union flankers Rugby union number eights British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Tonga Cardiff Rugby players Rugby union players from Pontypool 2011 Rugby World Cup players 2015 Rugby World Cup players 2023 Rugby World Cup players