Maria Folau facts for kids
Playing for the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic in 2009
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| Born | Solonaima Maria Tuta'ia 18 February 1987 Tokoroa, New Zealand |
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| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Lynfield College Mount Albert Grammar School Blockhouse Bay Intermediate |
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| Spouse | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Married | 15 November 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relatives | Siliva Siliva (2nd cousin) Faifili Levave |
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| Netball career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position(s): GA, GS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Club team(s) | Apps | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005–07 | Auckland Diamonds | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–09 | Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic | 31 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–18 | Northern Mystics | 164 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Adelaide Thunderbirds | 13 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | National team(s) | Caps | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005–19 |  New Zealand |
150 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| Last updated: 22 July 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Solonaima Maria Folau (whose maiden name was Tuta'ia) is a famous retired netball player from New Zealand. She was born on 18 February 1987 in Tokoroa, New Zealand. Maria played for the New Zealand national netball team, known as the Silver Ferns, for many years.
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Maria's Early Life
Maria Folau was born Solonaima Maria Tuta'ia in Tokoroa. Her parents, Fuisami and Niukini Tuta'ia, moved to New Zealand from Samoa in 1983. Maria was named after her grandmothers, Solonaima and Malia. When she started school, her teacher found her first name hard to say. Because of this, Maria began using her middle name, Maria.
School and Early Netball
Maria went to Lynfield College for most of her high school years. In her final year, she moved to Mount Albert Grammar School (MAGS). At MAGS, she became the captain of the school's top netball team. Under her leadership, the team achieved fourth place in two major tournaments.
In 2003, Maria was chosen for the New Zealand Under 21 (U21) netball squad. Two years later, in 2005, she helped her team win the World Youth Cup in Miami. That same year, she was called up to join the senior Silver Ferns team. Her first game for the Silver Ferns was during their tour of Jamaica.
Maria's Netball Career
Maria Folau had a long and successful career playing netball both in New Zealand and internationally.
Playing for Clubs
From 2005 to 2007, Maria played for the Auckland Diamonds in a competition called the National Bank Cup. In 2008, a new league started, the ANZ Championship. Maria joined the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic team. She played alongside another famous shooter, Irene van Dyk. After two years with the Magic, Maria moved back to Auckland. She then played for the Northern Mystics starting in 2010.
In 2010, during an ANZ Championship game, Maria was sent off the court. This happened in the last two minutes of a match against the Swifts. She was sent off for breaking the rules too many times.
Maria was known for scoring important goals. For example, she scored the winning goal against Australia in the gold medal match at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. She also scored the winning goal for the Mystics against the Magic in the final seconds of a 2011 ANZ Championship game.
In 2014, Maria was honored by her old school, Mount Albert Grammar School. She was added to their Hall of Fame.
After playing nine seasons with the Northern Mystics, Maria moved to Australia in 2019. She joined the Adelaide Thunderbirds in the Suncorp Super Netball league. She was the top goal scorer for the Thunderbirds that season. She also won the club's best player award. Maria left the club at the end of the 2019 season.
Playing for New Zealand
Maria represented New Zealand at many major events. She won gold medals at the 2006 Commonwealth Games and the 2010 Commonwealth Games. She also won a gold medal at the 2009 World Netball Series. Maria earned silver medals at the 2007 Netball World Championships, 2011 Netball World Championships, and 2015 Netball World Cup. She finally won a gold medal at the 2019 Netball World Cup.
Maria played for New Zealand at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the 2019 Netball World Cup.
In December 2019, Netball New Zealand announced that Maria Folau had retired. She stopped playing both club and international netball. She finished her career with 150 games for the Silver Ferns. This makes her the second most-capped player for New Zealand, after Laura Langman.
Maria's Personal Life
Maria Folau is married to Israel Folau, a rugby player from Australia with Tongan heritage. They got married in Kangaroo Valley, New South Wales, Australia, on 15 November 2017. It was a private outdoor ceremony. After their marriage, Maria changed her last name from Tuta'ia to Folau.
