Fetu'u Moana Vainikolo (born 30 January 1985) is a Tongan

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 for the Utah Warriors in

Major League Rugby Major League Rugby (MLR or USMLR) is a professional rugby union competition and the top-level championship for clubs in North America. In the 2022 season it was contested by thirteen teams: twelve from the United States and one from Canada. Off ...

(MLR). His regular playing position is Wing.

Early life

Born in

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 ...

, Vainikolo's family moved to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in 1997 when he was 12. He moved through rugby age group levels in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

before moving to the Wellsford club in Northland in 2007.

Club career

New Zealand

Vainikolo made his debut in the

2007 Air New Zealand Cup The 2007 Air New Zealand Cup was a provincial rugby union competition involving 14 teams from New Zealand. Matches started on Thursday 26 July 2007, and the Final, in which Auckland defeated Wellington, was held on Saturday 20 October. This s ...

, scoring five tries in just 10 matches to earn himself a

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

contract. He repeated the feat with another five tries in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

. Vainikolo transferred to

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

to join many of his Highlanders teammates for the

2009 Air New Zealand Cup The 2009 Air New Zealand Cup was the 33rd provincial rugby union competition, the fourth since the competition reconstruction in 2006, involving the top 14 provincial unions in New Zealand. It ran for 15 weeks from 30 July to 7 November. It was ...

. However, he was unable to duplicate his success for Northland, missing much of 2009 through injury and then struggling with poor form throughout the

2010 ITM Cup The 2010 ITM Cup season was the fifth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on July 29, when Taranaki hosted Northland. It involved the top fourteen rugby unio ...

. On the heels of his success with Northland, Vainikolo was drafted into the Highlanders squad for the

2008 Super 14 season The 2008 Super 14 season started in February 2008 with pre-season matches held from mid-January. It finished on 31 May, when the Crusaders won their seventh Super Rugby title with a 20–12 victory over the Waratahs in front of the Crusaders' ...

. While the team endured a difficult campaign, Vainikolo stood out as an offensive weapon, finishing third in the competition with six tries, including several of the highlight-reel variety. In the

2009 Super 14 season The 2009 Super 14 season kicked off in February 2009 with pre-season matches held from mid-January. It finished on 30 May, when the Bulls won their second Super Rugby title with a decisive 61–17 victory over the Chiefs at Loftus Versfeld sta ...

, Vainikolo struggled to repeat his first-year success, scoring only two tries and facing increased criticism for his defensive play, splitting starts with the more reliable

Kendrick Lynn Kendrick Graeme Lynn (born 30 November 1982) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. A versatile utility back, he last played for Lyon in the French Top 14 competition. Playing career Provincial Rugby Lynn was educated at St Peters School ...

. In

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, he started the season sharing playing time with James Paterson, but started the last seven games of the year and finished with five tries to co-lead the club along with

Israel Dagg Israel Jamahl Akuhata Dagg (born 6 June 1988) is a former New Zealand rugby union player who played for the Crusaders in Super Rugby. He has also played for the New Zealand Sevens team, and represents Hawkes Bay in the ITM Cup. Dagg played in ...

. Concerns about his all-around game and poor form during the

saw Vainikolo left off the Highlanders main squad for the

2011 Super 15 season The 2011 Super Rugby season was the first season of the new 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition, which involved teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Including its past iterations as Super 12 and Super 14, this was the 16t ...

, although he was included in the team's wider training group.

Europe

On the conclusion of Tonga's participation at the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

, Vainikolo joined the Irish province

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

for the 2011–2012 season. Having missed the pre-season and the first two months of the RaboDirectPro12 season, Vainikolo struggled to establish himself in the starting XV. Gradually, as he has settled and his performances improved as his confidence grew, he established himself as a key component in the Connacht attack. He is most notable for his eagerness to get involved, frequently coming infield to make a key tackle or to help clear out a ruck. After 14

appearances in 2011–12 between

Pro12 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

and 3 league tries, season 2012–13 held much promise for the fan favourite Tongan. He scored a vital try against Irish Rivals

Leinster Rugby Leinster Rugby ( ga, Rugbaí Laighean) is one of the four professional provincial rugby union teams from the island of Ireland and the most successful Irish team domestically. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby ...

, in a

derby to help Connacht gain a 34–6 win over the European champions. Vainikolo ran 50 metres to score a crucial try as

beat French giants

Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; Basque also ; oc, Biàrritz ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain. ...

in the

. He started in all six of Connacht's

games, and featured in seventeen of Connacht's twenty two

games. Exeter Chiefs announced on their official website on 9 May 2013 that Vainikolo would be joining the Chiefs on a two-year deal. Vainikolo scored a try on his competitive debut for the Chiefs during a 44–29 victory over

Cardiff Blues Cardiff Rugby ( cy, Rygbi Caerdydd) are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby competitions. Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms ...

in the

. After his stint with the Chiefs, Vanikolo signed with Top 14 side Oyonnax.

International career

Vainikolo was selected in the

2011 World Cup squad on 8 August, and made his test debut on 13 August 2011 against

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

in a 27–12 loss. His second appearance came one week later with a starting place in Tonga's 32–20 win against Fiji at Churchill Park,

Lautoka Lautoka () is the second largest Local government in Fiji, city in Fiji. It is on the west coast of the island of Viti Levu, in the Ba Province of the Western Division, Fiji, Western Division. Lying in the heart of Fiji's sugar cane-growing r ...

in which he scored his first try for Tonga. At

RWC 2011 The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

, his first World Cup outing was a starting place in Tonga's 25–20 loss to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, his second appearance came against

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 ...

in which he scored Tonga's third try in a 31–18 group match win. Fetu'u was called into the Tongan

2012 IRB Pacific Nations Cup The 2012 Pacific Nations Cup rugby union tournament was held between the four national sides on the Pacific Rim: Fiji, Japan, Samoa and Tonga. Japan were the reigning champion after they defeated Fiji in the 2011 competition at Churchill P ...

squad, which was being hosted by Japan and Fiji in June 2012. He scored two tries in the first match of the

2013 IRB Pacific Nations Cup The 2013 Pacific Nations Cup rugby union tournament was held between five national sides in the Pacific Region: Canada national rugby union team, Canada, Fiji national rugby union team, Fiji, Japan national rugby union team, Japan, Tonga national r ...

, in which Tonga beat Japan 27–17 on 25 May 2013. Vainikolo is currently the top try scorer for the Tongan national team.

References

External links