Amanaki Lelei Mafi (born 11 January 1990) is a Tongan-born, Japanese professional rugby union player who currently plays as a number 8 for the Japanese Sunwolves, Japan national rugby union team and the Bath Rugby Union team for a short period of time.

Debut

Mafi represented Tonga U20 in the 2009 Junior World Cup, before moving to Hanazono University in Japan in 2010. After a breakout first season in the Top League for NTT Communications Shining Arcs, Mafi was named in both the Tonga and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

squad for the 2014 November tests. He opted to play for Japan though, and made an immediate impact which was noted as 'pretty special' by coach

Eddie Jones Edward, Eddie, or Ed Jones may refer to: Architecture * Edward Vason Jones (1909–1980), American neoclassical architect * Edward Jones (English architect) (born 1939), English architect who designed the Saïd Business School * Edward Jones (Wel ...

. Mafi was then sidelined for eight months with a career-threatening dislocated hip injury but recovered just in time to make it back into the

2015 Rugby World Cup The 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was onl ...

squad, where he again impressed. Following the 2015–16 Top League season, he moved to England to join for

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

on a short -term loan deal where he was described as a 'sensation', However his stay was ended early in controversial circumstances following an altercation with the club's medical officer. Mafi made four appearances for Japan, including scoring two tries, at the 2015 Rugby World Cup and played an important role in the team's historical 34–32 win over the Springboks by providing the winning pass that secured the biggest upset of the tournament.

Career

Before Mafi's 2014 call up for the Brave Blossoms for his senior international debut against Romania he played in Japan's Kansai Collegiate Rugby Championships. In 2016, Mafi joined Bath Rugby Team on a short-term contract and made immediate impact with four tries in his first four matches. In August 2016 Mafi signed to join the Melbourne Rebels to train for the

2017 Super Rugby season The 2017 Super Rugby season was the 22nd season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. It was the second season featuring an expand ...

. On November 19, 2016, Mafi won the Man of the Match award in Japan's 33–30 loss to Wales at the Principality Stadium in the Under Armour Autumn Series. On May 30, 2017, Mafi was named to be in the Brave Blossoms Rugby Union team that represents Japan in international rugby union competitions. In July 2018 Mafi was charged with assault with intent to injure after allegedly assaulting teammate Lopeti Timani at a party in Dunedin. He was subsequently selected for the 2019 Rugby World Cup while still awaiting trial. In December 2019 he pleaded guilty to assault, but avoided a conviction after paying Timani NZ$50,000.

Super Rugby Statistics

References

1990 births Living people Japanese rugby union players Japan international rugby union players Urayasu D-Rocks players Bath Rugby players Rugby union number eights Expatriate rugby union players in England Tongan expatriate sportspeople in Japan Rugby union players from Haʻapai Japanese expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in Australia Melbourne Rebels players Sunwolves players Yokohama Canon Eagles players Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Australia Tongan expatriate sportspeople in Australia Tongan expatriate sportspeople in England Naturalized citizens of Japan Japanese expatriate sportspeople in England Naturalised sports competitors 2015 Rugby World Cup players 2019 Rugby World Cup players {{Japan-rugbyunion-bio-stub