Toutai Kefu facts for kids
| Full name | Rodger Siaosi Toutai Kefu | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 8 April 1974 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Tonga | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative(s) | Mafileo Kefu (brother) Steve Kefu (brother) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rodger Siaosi Toutai Kefu, born on April 8, 1974, is a Tongan-Australian rugby union coach and former player. He has been the head coach for the Tonga national team since 2016.
Kefu earned 60 caps playing for Australia, mostly as a number eight. He also coached the Queensland Country team in Australia's National Rugby Championship.
Contents
Playing Career Highlights
Toutai Kefu was a strong and fast player from a young age. He played for the Queensland Reds in 1996 when he was 21. This was for the first season of the Super 12 competition.
He made his first international appearance for Australia in 1997. He played against South Africa. In 1998, he became Australia's main number eight player. He helped Australia win against England with a score of 76–0.
Winning the Rugby World Cup
Kefu played a key part in Australia winning the 1999 Rugby World Cup. This was Australia's second time winning the Webb Ellis Cup. He played in four matches during the tournament. He even scored a try against Romania in the first game. He played the entire final match, helping his team to victory.
More Trophies and Success
In 2000, Kefu helped Australia win their first ever Tri Nations Series title. This also meant they won the Bledisloe Cup for the third time in a row. In 2001, he helped Australia win a series against the British and Irish Lions. This was the first time in over 70 years. Later that year, he scored the winning try against the All Blacks. This helped Australia keep the Bledisloe Cup and gave his captain, John Eales, a great send-off.
After not making the 2003 Rugby World Cup team, Kefu moved to Japan. He joined Kubota Spears in the Top League. He had played 103 games for the Queensland Reds before leaving. He played for Kubota Spears for six seasons. He retired from playing rugby after the 2009–10 season. In 2006, Kefu also played one game for the Barbarians against England.
Player Honours
- Rugby World Cup
- Winner: 1999
- Tri Nations Series
- Winner: 2000, 2001
- Bledisloe Cup
- Winner: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
- Mandela Challenge Plate
- Winner: 2000
- Tom Richards Cup
- Winner: 2001
- Puma Trophy
- Winner: 2002
- Trophée des Bicentenaires
- Winner: 1998, 2000, 2002
- Cook Cup
- Winner: June 1998, Nov 1998, 1999
- Hopetoun Cup
- Winner: 1998, 2000
- Lansdowne Cup
- Winner: 1999
Coaching Career
In 2010, Toutai Kefu became the head coach of the Sunshine Coast Stingrays. This team plays in the Queensland Premier League. In his first year, he led the Stingrays to win the Senior Championship title.
In 2011, he became an assistant coach for the Tongan national team. This was to help them get ready for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Tonga finished second in the 2011 IRB Pacific Nations Cup. This was their best result since the tournament started. They beat Fiji and Samoa. During the World Cup, Tonga won two games. They beat Japan and, for the first time since 1999, they beat France.
In 2012, Kefu was the temporary head coach for Tonga. He led them to a win against Japan. After leaving the Tongan team, he coached his old club, Kubota Spears, in Japan. He helped them get promoted to the 2013–14 Top League season. He left the club at the end of the 2015–16 season.
In August 2016, Kefu also coached Queensland Country in Australia. They won one game against the New South Wales Country Eagles.
Head Coach of Tonga
On May 6, 2016, Toutai Kefu was named the head coach of the Tongan national team. His first games were losses to Fiji, Georgia, and Samoa. However, he soon led Tonga to wins against Spain and the United States. A big win came against Italy (19–17). This was Tonga's first win over Italy since 1999. It was also their first win against a top-tier nation since beating Scotland in 2012.
In 2017, Kefu brought in many new players to the Tongan squad. They played their first home game since 2009 against Samoa. Tonga won that game 30–26. Later that year, they had a close loss to the Barbarians. They also beat Romania 25–20.
In 2018, Tonga finished as the second-best Pacific Nation behind Fiji. They beat Samoa 28–18. They also defeated Fiji 27–19 in Fiji for the first time since 2011. In the 2019 World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup, Tonga won one game against Canada. At the 2019 Rugby World Cup, Tonga won one game, beating the USA 31–19.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tonga did not play again until 2021. They qualified for the 2023 Rugby World Cup by beating the Cook Islands and Hong Kong. In November 2022, Kefu led Tonga to an undefeated tour. They beat Spain, Chile, and Uruguay. At the 2023 Rugby World Cup, Tonga won one game against Romania.
After the 2023 World Cup, Kefu stepped down as Tonga's head coach. He coached the team for seven years, making him the longest-serving head coach in Tonga's history.
Coach Honours
- World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup
- Runners-up: 2017, 2018
Personal Life
Toutai Kefu is married to Rachel. They have a son and a daughter. They live in Coorparoo, a suburb of Brisbane, Australia. In August 2021, Kefu and his family were injured during an incident at their home. His son helped him during the event. The rugby community around the world showed their support for the family.
