Sona Taumalolo facts for kids
Taumalolo playing for Tonga vs France during 2011 Rugby World Cup
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| Full name | Faka'ānaua ki 'Alisona Taumalolo, also known as Arizona Taumalolo or Sona Tafuna (former nickname) |
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| Date of birth | 13 November 1981 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Ha'akame, Tonga | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 112 kg (17 st 9 lb; 247 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Tupou College, Tonga | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative(s) | Ben Tameifuna (nephew) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sona Taumalolo (born November 13, 1981) is a former professional rugby union player. He played as a prop, which is a forward position in rugby. Sona played for teams like Hawke's Bay in New Zealand, the Chiefs in Super Rugby, and several clubs in France. He also represented the Tonga national team. He stopped playing professional rugby at the end of the 2020 Mitre 10 Cup season.
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Early Life and Family
Sona Taumalolo was born in Tonga, an island country in the Pacific Ocean. He went to Tupou College there. In 2001, he moved to New Zealand.
Sona is the uncle of Ben Tameifuna, who also plays rugby and has represented Tonga.
Sona's Rugby Career
Sona Taumalolo had a long and successful career playing rugby for different teams around the world.
Playing for Hawke's Bay
Sona started playing senior rugby in 2005. He joined the Magpies, which is the team for Hawke's Bay in New Zealand. He played his first game for Hawke's Bay on August 13, 2005, and even scored a try!
From 2005 to 2011, he played 61 games for Hawke's Bay in different New Zealand competitions like the National Provincial Championship and the Mitre 10 Cup.
In 2020, Sona returned to Hawke's Bay from France for one last season. He played three more games for the Magpies. That year, the Magpies won the 2020 Mitre 10 Cup Championship title and the Ranfurly Shield, which is a famous rugby trophy in New Zealand. Sona retired from professional rugby after this successful season.
Playing for the Chiefs
Sona joined the Chiefs, a team that plays in the Super Rugby competition, in 2009. Super Rugby is a big international rugby competition for teams from New Zealand, Australia, and other countries. He played his first Super Rugby game on February 14, 2009.
The 2012 Super Rugby season was his best with the Chiefs. The Chiefs won their first-ever Super Rugby title that year! Sona also scored 9 tries, which was one of the highest numbers of tries scored by any player in the 2012 season.
Playing in France
After playing in New Zealand, Sona moved to France to play rugby.
Perpignan Rugby Club
In June 2012, Sona signed a three-year contract with Perpignan, a French club that played in the Top 14 competition. The Top 14 is the highest level of professional rugby in France. He also played in European competitions like the Amlin Challenge Cup and Heineken Cup. After the 2013–14 season, Perpignan moved down to the second-tier league called Pro D2.
Racing-Métro
At the start of the 2014–15 Top 14 season, Sona joined Racing Métro as a temporary player to cover for injuries. However, he did not play any games for this club.
Grenoble Rugby Club
In June 2015, Sona joined Grenoble. He played for them in the 2015–16 Top 14 season and in the European Rugby Challenge Cup. After his second season, Grenoble was moved down to the Pro D2 league for the 2017-18 season.
However, Grenoble quickly earned their way back to the Top 14 for the 2018-19 season. Sona scored 8 tries that season, including one in the important promotion match.
In May 2018, Sona signed to play another season with Grenoble. But after medical tests, he was found to have "spinal anomalies" and his contract was ended.
Provence Rugby Club
Just over a month later, independent doctors said Sona was fit to play rugby again. On September 18, 2018, he signed with Provence Rugby, another club in the Pro D2 league. His second season with Provence Rugby was cut short in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. After that, he returned home to Hawke's Bay in New Zealand.
International Rugby Career
Sona Taumalolo also played for his home country, Tonga.
He played for Tonga's under-19 team in the 2000 IRB-FIRA U19 World Cup.
On July 2, 2011, Sona made his first appearance for the senior Tonga national team against Fiji. He scored a try in his very first international game! In the first game of the 2011 Rugby World Cup against New Zealand, Sona scored Tonga's only try. He played his last of 20 test matches for Tonga in the 2015 Rugby World Cup, also against New Zealand. He scored a total of 4 tries (20 points) during his international career.
Sona also had the chance to play for special invitational teams:
- He played for the Barbarians on June 1, 2014, when they beat an England XV team.
- Six days later, he played for the World XV team against South Africa.
In a surprise return, Sona played for Tonga again on July 24, 2021, against the Cook Islands. This was a qualification match for the 2023 Rugby World Cup. He was called out of retirement to help the team due to injuries to other players.
