Sitaleki Timani facts for kids
Sitaleki Timani playing for the Brumbies
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| Birth name | Sitaleki Timani | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 19 September 1986 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Kolonga, Tonga | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 118 kg (18.6 st; 260 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sitaleki Timani was born on September 19, 1986. He is a professional rugby union player from Tonga who also played for Australia. He made his first international game for the Wallabies in 2011.
Sitaleki usually plays as a lock. This position is in the middle of the scrum, helping to push forward and win the ball. He has played for many top clubs in major leagues like Top 14 in France and Super Rugby in Australia. Currently, he plays for RC Toulonnais in France.
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Early Life and Family
Sitaleki Timani grew up in Kolonga, a village in Tonga. He comes from a family of rugby players. His brothers, Sione and Lopeti, also play rugby at an international level.
When he was younger, Sitaleki played soccer. However, after starting at Tonga College 'Atele, he began playing rugby union. In 2003, he was chosen for the Tongan Schoolboys rugby team. This led to him winning a special scholarship to study at Auckland Grammar School in New Zealand.
At 19, Sitaleki moved to Australia. He tried a different type of rugby called rugby league. He played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in two different competitions in 2006 and 2007.
Rugby Union Career Highlights
In August 2007, Sitaleki Timani went back to playing rugby union. He joined the Perth Spirit team in the Australian Rugby Championship. He played in all their games that season as a starting lock.
The next year, in 2008, Sitaleki played his first Super Rugby game for the Western Force. This was against the Sharks team. He then moved to the Brumbies in 2009 and played most of the season.
Playing for Australia
Sitaleki later joined the NSW Waratahs team. He became a regular player for them in the 2011 season. At this time, he could choose to play for either Tonga (where he was born) or Australia (where he lived).
He chose to play for Australia. He was then picked for the Wallabies, which is Australia's national team. His first game for the Wallabies was on July 17, 2011, against Samoa.
Because he chose to play for Australia, he could no longer play for the Tonga team. This meant he missed out on possibly playing in the Rugby World Cup that year for Tonga.
Playing in France
In 2013, Sitaleki signed a three-year contract to play for Montpellier, a team in France. He joined them after touring with the Wallabies at the end of 2013.
He continued his career in France's top rugby league, the Top 14. He played for another four years with Clermont starting in 2016.
Sitaleki returned to Australia in 2021. He rejoined the Western Force team to play in the Super Rugby AU competition.
Personal Life
On December 15, 2012, Sitaleki Timani married Angela Kelava. They had been together for three years before getting married.
