Saimone Taumoepeau
Date of birth | 21 December 1979 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Place of birth | Ha'apai, Tonga | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 111 kg (17 st 7 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Tupou College Tonga | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notable relative(s) | Tevita Taumoepeau (brother) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spouse | Ilisapeti Taumoepeau | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Children | Bénir And Donatienne Taumoepeau | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Saimone Taumoepeau (born 21 December 1979 in Ha'apai, Tonga) is a professional rugby union player in France. He is the younger brother of Tevita Taumoepeau.
Career[edit]
Born in Tonga, Taumoepeau emigrated to New Zealand in 1997.[1] Taumoepeau was a shock selection in the 2004 end-of-year All Blacks squad after having only made his debut that season in provincial rugby's Air New Zealand Cup and having yet to play Super Rugby.[2] He first made his name as a loosehead prop, but made his debut as a hooker for the Junior All Blacks. He played his rugby for Auckland at provincial level and the Blues at Super 14 level before moving to French club Toulon.[3]
While considered to be on the smaller side of the scale compared to most international props in terms of physical size, Taumoepeau has made a reputation for being a devastating scrummager via technique and brute strength. He also proved to be a reliable hooker for both Auckland, the Blues and at Junior All Blacks level.
Taumoepeau signed with Toulon in 2007,[4] having joined them after that year's New Zealand season and won the French Pro D2 Championship 2007-2008. He played for Castres Olympique between 2011 and 2016, and won the French top 14 Championship in 2012-13.
Honours[edit]
Club[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Chris Rattue (26 October 2004). "Silent partner is a scrumming dynamo". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
- ^ "Saimone Taumoepeau". Blues. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
- ^ Michel Estienne (1 January 2014). "The Quiet Man". NZ Rugby World. No. 164. p. 62-65 – via EBSCOHost.
- ^ "Lavaur. Saimone Taumoepeau, un homme humble qui force le respect" (in French). LaDepeche.fr. 17 June 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
- ^ "KOCKOTT TAKES CASTRES TO THE TOP". rugby365.com. 1 June 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
External links[edit]
- CS1 French-language sources (fr)
- Use dmy dates from June 2014
- Use New Zealand English from June 2014
- All Wikipedia articles written in New Zealand English
- Articles with short description
- Short description with empty Wikidata description
- Articles without Wikidata item
- Infobox rugby biography with deprecated parameters
- Pages using infobox rugby biography with multiple clubs
- 1979 births
- Living people
- People from Haʻapai
- Tongan emigrants to New Zealand
- Rugby union props
- Tongan rugby union players
- New Zealand rugby union players
- New Zealand international rugby union players
- Expatriate rugby union players in France
- Blues (Super Rugby) players
- Auckland rugby union players
- RC Toulonnais players
- Castres Olympique players
- Tongan expatriate rugby union players
- New Zealand expatriate rugby union players
- New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in France
- Tongan expatriate sportspeople in France