Charlie Faumuina
Charles Faumuina (born 24 December 1986) is a rugby union player who plays prop, for Toulouse in Top 14 in France and formerly for New Zealand internationally.[2] He was a key member of the 2015 Rugby World Cup winning team.
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| Birth name | Charles Faumuina | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 24 December 1986 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | South Auckland, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 127 kg (280 lb; 20 st 0 lb)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Papatoetoe High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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His main position is tighthead prop but has also covered loosehead prop for the Blues.
Early career
Faumuina was a late recruit to rugby union, and played only rugby league until selected for the Papatoetoe High School 1st XV rugby team.[3] His progress in rugby union was rapid and in 2007 he was selected to make his first-class rugby debut for the New Zealand Colts against Canada. The same year he made his debut for Auckland as a substitute against the Counties Manukau Steelers in the Air New Zealand Cup.[4] On 7 March 2009, Faumuina made his Super Rugby debut against the Sharks when international prop John Afoa was ruled out through injury.
In 2011, due to extended injury layoff to Tony Woodcock, Faumuina started the majority of games for the Blues in a successful season.
In 2012 Faumuina played 10 of the Blues first 11 games in the Super Rugby season and missed only the game against the Chiefs due to injury.[2]
Blues head coach at the time Pat Lam believed Faumuina, despite his size, has a dancer's agility. "He's a big man but his footwork is unbelievable, he's got footwork like a ballerina and I think it's a massive asset," said Lam.[2]
All Blacks
On 8 September 2012, he made his debut for the All Blacks as a substitute in the 73rd minute in a test against Argentina.
On 15 September 2014 he scored his first international try for the All Blacks in a 24–21 victory against England.
Faumuina was selected for the 2015 Rugby World Cup's 31-man All Black squad and played in many games including the knockout stages, where the squad made history as the first to retain their World Cup title, and the first to win three tournaments.
Toulouse
On 28 October 2016, it was announced Faumuina would join top French club Toulouse in the Top 14 for the 2017-18 season.[5]
References
- http://stats.allblacks.com/asp/Profile.asp?ABID=1116
- "Faumuina emerges as All Black contender". theblues.co.nz. Archived from the original on 12 February 2013.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 15 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-22.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- Akers, CA & Miller, GD (2008). 74th Edition Sky Sport 2008 Rugby Almanack. Hodder Moa Books ISBN 978-1-86971-130-6
- "Toulouse sign All-Black prop Charlie Faumuina". Sky Sports. 28 October 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2017.