Tavite Lopeti (born 20 November 1998) is a United States

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, currently playing for the

San Diego Legion The San Diego Legion are an American professional rugby union team based in San Diego, California, that competes in Major League Rugby (MLR). The team plays its home games at Torero Stadium. The Legion began play in the league's inaugural 2018 ...

Major League Rugby Major League Rugby (MLR) is a professional rugby union competition in the United States. The league comprises 11 teams. While operating outside of the governance and oversight of the national governing body, the league is officially sanctioned ...

(MLR) and the

United States national team The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

. His preferred position is

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

Rugby career

Seattle Seawolves

In 2021, Lopeti was the third overall pick in the

Collegiate Draft and signed for the

Seattle Seawolves The Seattle Seawolves are an American professional rugby union team based in the Seattle metropolitan area that competes in Major League Rugby (MLR). The team was founded in 2017. The Seawolves won two MLR championships in 2018 and 2019, and los ...

for the 2022 MLR season. His MLR debut was against the

Toronto Arrows Toronto Arrows R.F.C. was a rugby union club based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that played in Major League Rugby. The Arrows team was an independent off-shoot of the Ontario Blues provincial programme and was funded by a group of private invest ...

on 06 February, playing inside center for the full 80 minutes. Lopeti was awarded MLR's Rookie of the Year honors in 2022, and would go on to score 40 points in 44 appearances during his two years in Seattle.

San Diego Legion

In the Fall of 2024 Lopeti played with

Mystic River Rugby Club The Mystic River Rugby Club, sometimes called Boston Mystic, is a New England Rugby Football Union (NERFU) club, founded in 1974, located in Malden, Massachusetts, and Melrose, Massachusetts, who field teams in Division 1 American Rugby Premiershi ...

in the American Rugby Premiership, helping them to an ARP title before signing with the

ahead of the

2025 Major League Rugby season The 2025 Major League Rugby season is the eighth season of Major League Rugby, the professional rugby union competition sanctioned by USA Rugby. The regular season began on February 15, 2025, and will last through June 28, 2025. Following the s ...

. On 16 February 2025, Lopeti would make his Legion debut at outside center, in a 45–33 win over his former club, Seattle.

United States

Lopeti debuted for

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 ...

against New Zealand during the

2021 end-of-year rugby union internationals The 2021 end of year rugby union tests, also referred to as the Autumn internationals in the Northern Hemisphere, were rugby union test matches during October and November 2021, mainly involving countries from the Northern Hemisphere hosting those ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lopeti, Tavite 1998 births Living people United States international rugby union players Rugby union centres Seattle Seawolves players Sportspeople from Hayward, California Rugby union players from California San Diego Legion players Mystic River Rugby players