Melani Matavao
Date of birth | 19 November 1995 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Place of birth | Motoʻotua, Samoa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 73 kg (161 lb; 11 st 7 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | St. Joseph's College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Melani Matavao (born 19 November 1995) is a Samoan professional rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for the Samoa national team.[1]
Club career
[edit]Matavao has come through Samoa's PPS Super 9 competition as a key player for the Aana Chiefs.[2] In 2018 he was given a place with Otago under World Rugby's Pacific Combine scheme,[3][4] playing 7 games in the 2018 Mitre 10 Cup season.[5]
In 2019 he signed for the Asia Pacific Dragons,[6] but did not play any matches with the team.[7]
International career
[edit]In 2015 Matavao was selected for the Samoan Under 20 side for the U20 World Championship in Italy.[8] In 2016 he was selected for Samoa A.[9]
He was selected for the Samoan national team in 2017,[10] making his debut in a test against Scotland in Edinburgh.[11] He played for Samoa in the 2018 World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup.[12] He was decisive in Samoa's qualification for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, scoring two tries in a qualifier against Germany.[13]
In February 2019 he was selected for the first time for the Samoa Sevens.[14][15] He was then named to Samoa's Rugby World Cup squad.[16] After the world cup, he played in the 2020 world sevens series.[17]
Matavao was selected for the Samoan squad to the 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Cape Town.[18]
References
[edit]- ^ "Melani Matavao". ESPN scrum.
- ^ "One Local Player in Samoa's Rugby World Cup Squad". August 31, 2019.
- ^ "Pacific Combine creates new player pathway on islands". Rugby World. 30 July 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
- ^ "'We just need to be more clinical'". Otago Daily Times. 28 September 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
- ^ "Melani Matavao". New Zealand Rugby History. April 19, 2019.
- ^ "Hammington signs for Otago for two years". Otago Daily Times. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
- ^ "Asia Pacific Dragons' threat fails to materialise - at least for now". Otago Daily Times. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
- ^ "Matavao is the player to watch out for this weekend | Loop Samoa".
- ^ Sina Sevaaetasi (27 September 2016). "Samoa A squad named". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
- ^ "Sport: Seven new caps in Manu Samoa squad". RNZ. 21 October 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
- ^ "Rugby Union - ESPN Scrum - Statsguru - Player analysis - Melani Matavao - Test matches". ESPN scrum.
- ^ "Premier 1's – New recruit Melani Matavao selected for national honours". Harbour Rugby. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
- ^ "Samoa step closer to Rugby World Cup qualification after routing Germany". Stuff. 1 July 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
- ^ "Two debutants in Samoa 7s squad for Vegas, Vancouver". Fiji Times. 22 February 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
- ^ Thomas Airey (17 June 2019). "Vaili and Matavao star in their first Sevens Series campaigns". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
- ^ "Sport: Manu Samoa name two new caps in RWC squad". RNZ. August 31, 2019.
- ^ "Matavao to make his comeback for Samoa at the LA 7s". Loop Samoa. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
- ^ Sanerivi, Sialai Sarafina (2022-09-07). "Manu Samoa 7's team named for R.W.C. this weekend". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 2022-09-17.
External links
[edit]- Melani Matavao at the World Rugby Men's Sevens Series (archived)
- Melani Matavao at ESPNscrum
- Melani Matavao at ItsRugby.co.uk
- 1995 births
- Living people
- Samoan rugby union players
- Samoan rugby sevens players
- Samoa international rugby union players
- Rugby union scrum-halves
- Commonwealth Games competitors for Samoa
- Rugby sevens players at the 2022 Commonwealth Games
- 2019 Rugby World Cup players
- 2023 Rugby World Cup players
- Otago rugby union players
- Moana Pasifika players
- Samoan rugby union biography stubs