Saimone Taumoepeau

Saimone Taumoepeau
Date of birth (1979-12-21) 21 December 1979
Place of birth Ha'apai, Tonga
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight 111 kg (17 st 7 lb)
School Tupou College Tonga
Notable relative(s) Tevita Taumoepeau (brother)
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position Prop Hooker
Amateur clubs
Years Club / team
Auckland Marist
correct as of 1 Sept 2006.
Professional / senior clubs
Years Club / team Caps (points)
2007-2011
2011-
Toulon
Castres Olympique
99
79
(40)
(20)
correct as of 17 January 2015.
Provincial/State sides
Years Club / team Caps (points)
2004-2007 Auckland 32 (20)
correct as of 9 September 2006.
Super Rugby
Years Club / team Caps (points)
2005-2007 New Zealand Blues 23 (5)
correct as of 9 September 2006.
National team(s)
Years Club / team Caps (points)
2004-2005  New Zealand 3 (5)
correct as of 1 Sept 2006.

Saimone Taumoepeau (born 21 December 1979 in Ha'apai, Tonga) is a professional rugby union player in France.

Career

Born in Tonga, Taumoepeau emigrated to New Zealand at the age of 20. Taumoepeau was a shock selection in the 2004 end-of-year All Blacks squad after having only made his debut that season in provincial rugby's Air New Zealand Cup and having yet to play Super Rugby. He first made his name as a loosehead prop, but made his debut as a hooker for the Junior All Blacks. He played his rugby for Auckland at provincial level and the Blues at Super 14 level before moving to French club Toulon.

While considered to be on the smaller side of the scale compared to most international props in terms of physical size, Taumoepeau has made a reputation for being a devastating scrummager via technique and brute strength. He also proved to be a reliable hooker for both Auckland, the Blues and at Junior All Blacks level.

Taumoepeau's older brother Tevita played for Bay of Plenty, North Harbour and the Blues. Tevita now plays for Worcester Warriors in the English Premiership.

Taumoepeau signed with Toulon in 2007, joined them after that year's New Zealand season and won the French Pro D2 Championship 2007-2008. He currently plays for Castres Olympique. Sign with Castres Olympique from 2011-2014, won the French top 14 Championship 2012-2013.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, March 11, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.