Filogia Ian "Filo" Tiatia (born 4 June 1971 in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

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 ...

) is a New Zealand international

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 ...

footballer, best known as a back-row forward and occasional lock for Welsh region the Ospreys. Tiatia made his debut for

in 1992, playing through the advent of professionalism and then represented the

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

in the

Super 12 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 ...

between 1996 and 2002. Tiatia won 2 caps for the

national side in 2000. His first was as a replacement in a 102–0 win against

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 ...

where he scored a try. The next was a start at flanker against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

where he again scored another try
match list
He then moved to Japan to play four seasons for

Toyota Verblitz Toyota Verblitz is a Japanese rugby union team in the Japan Rugby League One. Verblitz is a portmanteau of ''verde'' (Spanish and Portuguese for 'green') and ''blitz'' (German for 'lightning'). The team is owned by Toyota Motor Corporation and is ...

before signing for the Welsh region the Ospreys. He became a cult figure at the Ospreys impressing fans with his all action style and appetite for work around the field. He played 99 times for the Ospreys scoring 10 tries. He was so popular at the Ospreys fans set up the Filo Tiatia Appreciation Society on Faceboo

Tiatia also had a Grogg made of him in 200

and fought to keep Swansea Tennis Centre open in 201

Tiatia retired at the age of 38 but stayed at the Ospreys as a coach. He was named head coach for the

LV= Cup The Anglo-Welsh Cup (), was a cross-border rugby union knock-out cup competition that featured the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and the four Welsh regions. It was a created as a replacement for the RFU Knockout Cup, which featured only English clubs ...

in 201

Filo Tiatia left his Ospreys coaching role at the end of the 2011–2012 season to become forwards coach at Japanese side Toyota Verblitz

After one season as forwards coach for Toyota Verblitz, Tiatia was promoted to head coach for the 2012 -13 season. Tiatia was also involved with the Japanese national rugby team, under head coach Eddie Jones (rugby union), Eddie Jones. He worked as a forwards coach during the 2013 Asian 5 Nations. Tiatia was later also involved with coaching the Japanese national team ahead of their November 2013 Test match against the All Blacks, which New Zealand won 54–6. In September 2016 he became head coach of Japan's

Sunwolves The Sunwolves (Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or ...

Super Rugby side Tiatia's younger brother,

Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...

, has also played professional rugby at both provincial and Super Rugby levels, as well as making appearances for the Samoa national team.

References

External links

*
Profile
a
OspreysRugby.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiatia, Filo 1971 births New Zealand international rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in Japan People educated at Wellington College (New Zealand) Living people New Zealand rugby union coaches New Zealand rugby union players Wellington rugby union players Hurricanes (rugby union) players Toyota Verblitz players Ospreys (rugby union) players Rugby union flankers Rugby union number eights Expatriate rugby union players in Wales New Zealand expatriate rugby union players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate rugby union players in Italy New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Japan New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Wales