Timoci Matanavou (born 8 July 1984 in

Lautoka Lautoka () is the second largest city in Fiji. It is on the west coast of the island of Viti Levu, in the Ba Province of the Western Division. Lying in the heart of Fiji's sugar cane-growing region, the city has come to be known as the Sugar ...

, Fiji) is a Fijian

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

player. He plays as a

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is exp ...

. He plays for

Stade Toulousain Stade Toulousain () ( oc, Estadi Tolosenc), also referred to as Toulouse, is a professional rugby union club based in Toulouse, France. They compete in the Top 14, France's top division of rugby, and the European Rugby Champions Cup. Toulous ...

in the

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 French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

competition.

International

Matanavou attracted the attention of Fiji Rugby Sevens team selectors with a strong performance in a local sevens tournament in 2008. He was included into the Fiji's Sevens team and he made his debut at the

Hong Kong Sevens The Hong Kong Sevens () is an rugby sevens tournament held annually in Hong Kong on a weekend in late March or early April. Considered the premier tournament on the World Rugby Sevens Series competition, the Hong Kong Sevens is currently the ...

in the

2007–08 IRB Sevens World Series The 2007–08 IRB Sevens World Series was the ninth of an annual IRB Sevens World Series of rugby sevens tournaments for full national sides run by the International Rugby Board since 1999–2000. The defending series champions, New Zeal ...

. Matanavou played for the Fiji national team (15s) during the November 2012 tests, and he scored a try in a friendly between Fiji and GloucesterRTÉ Sport, Fiji pipped by Gloucester in Kingsholm, Nov. 14, 2012, http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/2012/1114/345657-fiji-pipped-by-gloucester-in-kingsholm/ He made his official test debut the following week in a match between Fiji and Ireland XV when he entered as a substitute.

Club

Matanavou's performance for Fiji saw him get picked by

Mont-de-Marsan Mont-de-Marsan (; Occitan: ''Lo Mont de Marçan'') is a commune and capital of the Landes department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. Population Military installations The French Air and Space Force operates the '' Constantin Ro ...

, a

team in France for the

2008–09 Top 14 season The 2008–09 Top 14 Competition was a French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR). It ran from late August 2008 through the final at Stade de France on June 6, 2009, in which Perpignan lifted the Bou ...

. In August 2008, he made his debut on the right wing against

US Montauban US Montauban ( oc, Union Esportiva Montalban) is a French rugby union club that currently competes in Rugby Pro D2, the second level of the country's professional league system. They have also competed at the top level, Top 14, in the past, most ...

. He scored his first try in February 2009, against

Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine ...

. He scored just three tries that season and Mont-de-Marsan was demoted to

Pro D2 Rugby Pro D2, also known as Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was i ...

competition for finishing last. The following

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

in the ProD2, he managed 9 tries and was the best player for

Stade Montois Stade Montois is a French rugby union team that currently is playing in Pro D2, the second level of the country's professional league system. They were founded in 1908 and play in yellow and black. They are based in Mont-de-Marsan, the capi ...

that season. The following year, in the 2010–11 Rugby Pro D2 season, he finished as the overall top try scorer with 19 tries in 28 appearances. His performance impressed

Guy Noves Guy or GUY may refer to: Personal names * Guy (given name) * Guy (surname) * That Guy (...), the New Zealand street performer Leigh Hart Places * Guy, Alberta, a Canadian hamlet * Guy, Arkansas, US, a city * Guy, Indiana, US, an unincorp ...

, the

Stade Toulouse Stade Toulousain () ( oc, Estadi Tolosenc), also referred to as Toulouse, is a professional rugby union club based in Toulouse, France. They compete in the Top 14, France's top division of rugby, and the European Rugby Champions Cup. Toulous ...

coach who included the winger in his team for the

2011–12 Top 14 season The 2011–12 Top 14 competition was a French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR). Home-and-away play began on August 26, 2011. Two new teams from the 2010–11 Rugby Pro D2 season were promoted to ...

. In the 2011-12 Top 14 season he finished tied for second in try scoring with 10 tries scored. He was the leading try scorer in the

2011–12 Heineken Cup The 2011–12 Heineken Cup was the 17th season of the Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby. The final was held at Twickenham on Saturday, 19 May 2012, kicking off at ...

with 8 tries. ST vs Harlequins - Matanavu - Crop

Personal

Matanavou is the first cousin of

Racing Metro 92 In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specifi ...

winger,

Sireli Bobo Isireli Bobo (born 28 January 1976), is a Fijian rugby union footballer. Early career Early in his career, he played for Grupo Dramático e Sportivo Cascais, a Portugal, Portuguese team. He was in the Nawaqavesi 7s and was subsequently picked ...

. He is married to Fane Raibevu Matanavou and has two kids Pierre Yves and Melissa Matanavou

References

External links

Fiji Rugby profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matanavou, Timoci 1984 births Living people Rugby union wings Fijian rugby union players Stade Toulousain players Sportspeople from Lautoka Fijian expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in France Fijian expatriate sportspeople in France Fiji international rugby sevens players I-Taukei Fijian people Fiji international rugby union players