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Joe Taufeteʻe
Full nameJoseph Soosemea Taufeteʻe
Date of birth (1992-10-04) October 4, 1992 (age 31)
Place of birth Nuʻuuli, American Samoa
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) [1]
Weight266 lb (121 kg; 19 st 0 lb) [1]
School Vallejo High School
Garden Grove High School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Hooker
Prop
Current team Houston SaberCats
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2011– c.2013 Belmont Shore RFC ()
2014 Sciota Valley RFC ()
2014 Otorohanga RFC ()
Correct as of March 7, 2019
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016 San Diego Breakers 8 (5)
2016–2020 Worcester Warriors 46 (30)
2020–2022 Lyon 19 (0)
2022 LA Giltinis 8 (10)
2022–2023 Leicester Tigers 5 (0)
2023– Houston SaberCats 7 (20)
Correct as of 26 June 2023
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016 USA Selects 3 (0)
2015– United States 37 (115)
Correct as of 27 March 2024
College football career
Santa Ana College Dons – No. 32
Position Defensive tackle
Career history
College

Joseph Soosemea Taufeteʻe (born October 4, 1992) [1] is an American rugby union player who plays as a hooker and prop for the Houston SaberCats in Major League Rugby (MLR). A converted American football player, Taufeteʻe has also previously represented the United States by serving as captain of the USA Selects. He also plays for the United States national team.

He previously played for LA Giltinis in Major League Rugby, Lyon OU in France's Top 14 , Worcester Warriors and Leicester Tigers in Premiership Rugby and the San Diego Breakers in PRO Rugby.

Early life

Joe Taufeteʻe was born on October 4, 1992 [1] in Nuʻuuli, American Samoa [2] and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area [3] after moving with his family to California at the age of five. [2] Of Samoan descent, Taufeteʻe played American football as a youth and aspired to playing in the NFL. [3] Taufeteʻe attended Santa Ana College in Santa Ana, California and played at defensive tackle for school's football team during the 2010 and 2011 seasons. [3] [4] Taufeteʻe earned multiple All-Conference honors during his time with the team, [4] but an ACL injury ended his aspirations of furthering his career in football. [3]

Rugby career

Club

Taufete'e began playing rugby with the Belmont Shore U-19 team while studying and playing American football at Santa Ana Community College. [5] He then went to New Zealand to develop his rugby skills.

In early 2016, Taufete'e was signed to a professional contract by the San Diego Breakers. In December 2016, Taufete'e signed a contract to the Worcester Warriors in the English Premiership. [6]

On 26 February 2020, Taufete signed for French side Lyon in the Top 14 ahead of the 2020–21 season. [7] In March 2022, following the birth of his child in California, Taufete’e was granted release from Lyon and was subsequently signed by the LA Giltinis. [8]

In August 2022 Taufete'e signed for Leicester Tigers in England's Premiership Rugby. [9] Head coach Steve Borthwick described Taufete'e as "a powerful player, in attack and defence". [9] He made his debut on 18 September 2022 as a replacement in a 36-21 win over Newcastle Falcons at Welford Road. He featured 5 times before leaving Tigers in April 2023 to join Houston SaberCats.

International

The uncapped Taufete'e was a surprise inclusion in the U.S. squad for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. [5] Taufete'e debuted for the United States at the 2015 Rugby World Cup against South Africa. [10] He also played for the U.S. at the 2016, 2017, and 2019 Americas Rugby Championships. The USA star has made 22 appearances for the Eagles, scoring 20 tries. This surpasses former Ireland great Keith Wood, a hooker, for the most international tries by any player in the tight five (i.e., either a hooker, prop, or lock). [11]

International tries

Try Opposing team Venue Competition Date Result Score Ref.
1   Chile Lockhart Stadium, Fort Lauderdale 2016 Americas Rugby Championship February 20, 2016 Won 64–0 [12]
2   Brazil Athletic Club, São Paulo 2016 Americas Rugby Championship February 27, 2016 Lost 23–24 [13]
3   Tonga Anoeta Stadium, San Sebastián Test match November 19, 2016 Lost 17–20 [14]
4   Canada Torero Stadium, San Diego 2019 Rugby World Cup Qualifier July 1, 2017 Won 52–16 [15]
5
6   Germany Brita-Arena; Wiesbaden [16] Test match November 18, 2017 Won 46–17 [17]
7   Georgia Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi Test match November 25, 2017 Lost 20–21 [18]
8
9   Russia Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City Test match June 9, 2018 Won 62–13 [19]
10
11   Scotland BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston Test match June 16, 2018 Won 30–29 [20]
12
13   Samoa Anoeta Stadium, San Sebastián Test match November 10, 2018 Won 30–29 [21]
14   Ireland Aviva Stadium, Dublin Test match November 24, 2018 Lost 14–57 [22]
15   Chile Estadio Santiago Bueras; Maipu 2019 Americas Rugby Championship February 2, 2019 Won 71–8 [23]
16   Uruguay Starfire Sports, Tukwila 2019 Americas Rugby Championship March 2, 2019 Lost 25–32 [24]
17
18
19   Canada Starfire Sports, Tukwila 2019 Americas Rugby Championship March 9, 2019 Won 30–25 [25]
20
21   Canada Infinity Park, Glendale, Colorado 2023 Rugby World Cup Qualifier September 11, 2021 Won 38–16 [26]
22   Chile Estadio Santa Laura-Universidad SEK, Santiago 2023 Rugby World Cup Qualifier July 9, 2022 Won 22–21 [27]
23   Chile Infinity Park, Glendale, Colorado 2023 Rugby World Cup Qualifier July 16, 2022 Lost 29–31 [28]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Joe Taufeteʻe". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Malala, Leiloa Ese (May 11, 2017). "Joseph Taufetee is a rugby star". Samoa News. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d Harvey, Neale (April 8, 2017). "I was close to being an LA drop-out". The Rugby Paper. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Former Don of the Year Joe Taufete'e Signs with Professional Rugby Team". Santa Ana College Athletics. March 27, 2017. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Interview with Uncapped Eagle Joseph Taufete’e", Rugby Wrap Up, August 27, 2015.
  6. ^ "Worcester sign USA forward Taufete'e". BBC Sport.
  7. ^ "Joe Taufete'e: Worcester Warriors hooker to join Lyon next season". BBC Sport. February 26, 2020.
  8. ^ "GILTINIS SWOOP ON USA EAGLE JOE TAUFETE'E". LA Giltinis. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  9. ^ a b Coetzee, Dylan (August 12, 2022). "Leicester Tigers: Joe Taufete'e and Tom Horton headline trio of new signings for the Premiership champions". Planet Rugby. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
  10. ^ "Joseph Taufete'e Rugby World Cup Profile". Rugby World Cup. August 30, 2015. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
  11. ^ SFMS Limited. "Player Records, overall figures, tight five, by total tries scored". Statsguru. ESPN.com. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  12. ^ "Americas Rugby Championship - Fort Lauderdale, 20 February 2016, 18:00 local, 23:00 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  13. ^ "Americas Rugby Championship - Sao Paulo, 27 February 2016, 20:00 local, 23:00 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  14. ^ "Tonga Tour - San Sebastian, 19 November 2016, 17:00 local, 16:00 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  15. ^ "2019 Rugby World Cup Qualifier - San Diego, 1 July 2017, 15:00 local, 22:00 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  16. ^ "Germany vs USA – Full Match Video". Americas Rugby News. November 19, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  17. ^ "United States of America Tour - Wiesbaden, 18 November 2017, 17:00 local, 16:00 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  18. ^ "United States of America Tour - Tbilisi, 25 November 2017, 18:00 local, 14:00 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  19. ^ "Russia Tour - Commerce City, 9 June 2018, 18:00 local, 00:00 GMT +1d". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  20. ^ "Scotland Tour - Houston, 16 June 2018, 20:00 local, 03:00 GMT +1d". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  21. ^ "United States of America Tour - San Sebastian, 10 November 2018, 18:30 local, 17:30 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  22. ^ "United States of America Tour - Lansdowne Road, 24 November 2018, 18:30 local, 18:30 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  23. ^ "Americas Rugby Championship - Maipu, 2 February 2019, 15:00 local, 18:00 GMT". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  24. ^ "Americas Rugby Championship - Seattle, 2 March 2019, 19:10 local, 03:10 GMT +1d". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  25. ^ "Match Report: USA vs. Canada, 2019 Americas Rugby Championship". World Rugby. March 9, 2019. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  26. ^ "USA SET UP AMERICAS 1 SHOWDOWN WITH URUGUAY". Rugby World Cup. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  27. ^ "Rugby World Cup Qualifying 2021". World Rugby. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  28. ^ "Chile secure Rugby World Cup debut with dramatic defeat of the USA". World Rugby. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
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