is a professional

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player who plays as a

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

for

Japan Rugby League One Japan Rugby League One (formerly the Top League) is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by absorbing the ...

club

Saitama Wild Knights Saitama Wild Knights (formerly Panasonic Wild Knights) is a Japanese rugby union team formerly based in Ōta city, Gunma prefecture which plays in the Top League. Inspired by Tony Brown at fly half (though he was not captain), it dominated the l ...

. Born in Tonga, he represents

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 ...

at international level after qualifying on residency grounds.

International career

After 4 Top League seasons for Panasonic Wild Knights Ai Valu received his first call-up to his adopted country, Japan's senior squad ahead of the 2017 end-of-year rugby union internationals.

Personal life

Valu received Japanese Citizenship in 2017. He is the son of former rugby union player

Fakahau Valu Fakahau Valu (born July 1, 1950) is a former n rugby union player. He played as a flanker. Career He made his debut against the Māori All Blacks in 1973. Valu captained at the 1987 Rugby World Cup, he played his last game against . He was a m ...

, who represented

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

at the

1987 Rugby World Cup The 1987 Rugby World Cup was the first Rugby World Cup. It was co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia – New Zealand hosted 21 matches (17 pool stage matches, two quarter-finals, the third-place play-off and the final) while Australia hosted 11 ...

. In Valu's university times, during the rugby off-season, he worked part-time at a farm-house and appeared at the

Nippon Television JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed su ...

variety show The! Tetsuwan! DASH!!. Upon acquiring Japanese citizenship, he added the first kanji of his wife's name () to his Japanese name. His wife's great-uncle is the comedian

Kinichi Hagimoto is a Japanese comedian. He is active as a stage performer, emcee, and manager of the amateur Ibaraki Golden Golds (''ibaraki goruden gōruzu'') of the Japanese Baseball Association (''nippon yakyuu renmei''). Born in the Taitō ward of Tōky� ...

. Although Valu himself has not met Hagimoto, he has been received with a phone call.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ai Valu, Asaeli 1989 births Living people Japanese rugby union players Rugby union players from Tongatapu Tongan rugby union players Japan international rugby union players Rugby union props Saitama Wild Knights players Sunwolves players Tongan expatriate rugby union players in Japan Tongan emigrants to Japan 2019 Rugby World Cup players 2023 Rugby World Cup players Naturalized citizens of Japan Naturalised rugby union players