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Lotima Taufo'ou Fainga'anuku (born 26 April 1997) is a Tongan born New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays for North Harbour in the Bunnings NPC. He usually plays in the Wing or Centre positions.
| Full name | Lotima Taufo'ou Fainga'anuku | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 26 April 1997 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Nuku'alofa, Tonga | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 103 kg (16 st 3 lb; 227 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Nelson College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative(s) | Leicester Fainga'anuku (brother) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Early career
editFainga'anuku was educated at Nelson College from 2011 to 2015.[1] He was a part of the New Zealand Under 20s winning team over England Under 20s 64–17 in the 2017 World Rugby Under 20 Championship.[1]
Senior career
editFainga'anuku started his senior career at Tasman in 2016. He made his Super Rugby debut for the Crusaders in their 34–20 win over the Chiefs in Round 16, 2018.[2][3] Tima was named in the Highlanders 2020 squad after Connor Garden-Bachop had to withdraw because of injury. He was part of the Mako side that won the 2020 Mitre 10 Cup. In June 2021, it was announced that Fainga'anuku would be switching his international eligibility to Tonga using the Olympic loophole, representing Tonga Sevens at the 2020 Men's Rugby Sevens Final Olympic Qualification Tournament, however due to quarantining issues relating to the COVID-19 pandemic he was unable to play.[4] Fainga'anuku made the move to Manawatu on a 2 year deal.[5] In May 2022 he was named in the Tonga national squad.
References
edit- ^ a b "Baby Blacks winger Tima Faingaanuku takes on the world - and wins". stuff.co.nz. 23 June 2017.
- ^ "Live Super Rugby updates= Chiefs vs Crusaders". NZ Herald. 2 June 2018.
- ^ "Crusaders too strong for Chiefs". Otago Daily Times. 2 June 2018.
- ^ "Rugby: Former All Blacks midfielder Malakai Fekitoa set to represent Tonga". NZ Herald. 11 June 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
- ^ "Strike weapon Fainga'anuku locked in for Turbos". Manawatu Turbos. 23 June 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
External links
edit- Tima Fainga'anuku at ESPNscrum
- Tima Fainga'anuku at ItsRugby.co.uk
