Lopeti Timani facts for kids
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Timani representing Australia in 2017
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| Date of birth | 28 September 1990 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Navutoka, Tonga | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 122 kg (269 lb; 19 st 3 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Tonga College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Lopeti Timani is a professional rugby union player from Tonga. He was born on September 28, 1990. Lopeti plays as a lock or Number 8. He currently plays for the United Rugby Championship club Cardiff and also represents the Tonga national team.
Contents
Lopeti Timani's Early Life
Lopeti Timani grew up in Navutoka, a village in Tonga. He comes from a family of rugby players. His older brothers, Sione Timani and Sitaleki Timani, are also well-known international rugby players.
School and Youth Rugby
Lopeti went to Tonga College 'Atele. When he was just 17, he was chosen to play for Tonga's under-20s rugby team in a world championship in 2008. However, he couldn't play because the rules said players had to be at least 18 years old.
When he turned 18, Lopeti moved to Australia. For a short time, he switched from rugby union to rugby league. He played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in a competition called the Toyota Cup in 2009 and 2010.
Lopeti Timani's Professional Rugby Journey
In 2011, Lopeti Timani returned to playing rugby union. He joined the Junior Waratahs team, where he played in the Pacific Rugby Cup. He also played for the Southern Districts Rugby Club. This helped him become a strong player in different positions, like lock and in the back row.
Playing in Australia
Lopeti signed a contract with the Waratahs for the 2012 season. He made his first appearance in a major competition called Super Rugby against the Reds. In 2013, he even played against the famous British & Irish Lions team.
Later, Lopeti joined the Melbourne Rebels for the 2014 and 2015 seasons.
Representing Australia
In 2016, Lopeti Timani achieved a big dream: he played for the Australian national team. His first game was against Argentina in Perth. He then started his first game against Argentina in London, which was a very important moment for him. He continued to be a starting player for Australia in his next four games.
Lopeti decided to stay with Australian Rugby until 2019, even though he had offers from teams in Europe.
Moving to Europe
In August 2018, Lopeti moved to France to play for La Rochelle in a top French league called Top 14. He played for La Rochelle for three seasons, from 2018 to 2021. During his time there, La Rochelle reached the final of the European Challenge Cup and the semi-final of the Top 14 in the 2018-2019 season. In the 2020-2021 season, they made it to the final of both the European Championship Cup and the Top 14.
After La Rochelle, Lopeti signed with Toulon, another team in the Top 14, for the 2021-2022 season.
Playing for Tonga
In June 2021, Lopeti Timani started playing for the Tonga sevens team (a faster version of rugby with seven players per side) at a tournament in Monaco. This meant he changed his international team from Australia to Tonga. On November 6, 2021, Lopeti played his first full international game for the Tonga national team against England.
Current Club: Cardiff Rugby
On April 27, 2022, it was announced that Lopeti Timani would join Cardiff Rugby in the URC league starting from the 2022-23 season. He continues to play for Cardiff Rugby today.
