Francis Saili (born 16 February 1991) is a New Zealand
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, currently playing for French club
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. ...
. He plays primarily as a
centre
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
* Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...
, though he can also play
wing
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...
. He is the younger brother of
Blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
loose forward
Peter Saili.
Early life
Saili was born 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 ...
and educated at
St Peter's College where he played rugby in the school First XV. He was the captain in 2009. He represented New Zealand in schoolboy and global under-age tournaments. After leaving school he played for Auckland Marist.
Career
Saili was part of the New Zealand Under 20 team that won the Junior World Championship in Italy in 2011.
Saili started his professional rugby career in 2011, with a start in the
ITM Cup
ITM may stand for:
Education
* ITM Global School, an English medium co-educational day school in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
* ITM Law School, one of the professional graduate schools of ITM University
* ITM-IFM, Mumbai, India
* Institut Tekn ...
for
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 ...
. In 2012, he commenced playing for the
Blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
in a match against the
Stormers
The Stormers (known for sponsorship reasons as the DHL Stormers) is a South African professional rugby union team based in Cape Town in the Western Cape that competes in the United Rugby Championship, a trans-hemispheric competition that also ...
. In 2013, Saili made his debut for the
All Blacks
The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...
against
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
in Hamilton. On 1 November 2014, he played for the
Barbarians
A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be les ...
against
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, scoring a try at
Twickenham
Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...
.
On 6 April 2015, it was announced that Saili would be joining Irish provincial side
Munster
Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...
on a two-year contract. He made his debut on 21 August 2015 in Munster's uncapped pre-season friendly loss to Irish rivals
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 ...
. Saili made his full Munster debut on 13 September 2015, starting against
Ospreys in the
2015–16 Pro12
The 2015–16 Pro12 (also known as the ''Guinness Pro12'' for sponsorship reasons) was the fifteenth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League, and the sixth with its current four-country format. it ...
. He made his
European Rugby Champions 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 ...
debut on 14 November 2015, starting the opening
2015–16 pool game against
Treviso
Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Veneti ...
. On 16 August 2016, it was announced that Saili would be out for 3–4 months following a surgical procedure on his shoulder.
On 26 December 2016, Saili made his return from the injury, coming on as a replacement for
Jaco Taute
Jacob Johannes Taute (born 21 March 1991) is a South African retired rugby union player. He played as a fullback or centre, he won three caps for . Taute played for the and the in Super Rugby, the and in the Currie Cup, Munster in the Pr ...
in Munster's game against
Leinster
Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...
. On 14 January 2017, Saili scored the winning try in Munster's 12–14 away win against
Glasgow Warriors
Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became t ...
, a win that secured Munster's place in the quarter-finals of the
2016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup. On 19 May 2017, it was announced that Saili would leave Munster at the end of the 2016–17 season. The following day, in what was his final appearance for Munster in
Thomond Park
Thomond Park is a stadium in Limerick in the Irish province of Munster. The stadium is owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union and has Munster Rugby, Shannon RFC and UL Bohemian RFC as tenants. Limerick FC played home games in Thomond Park fr ...
, Saili scored a try and won the Man-of-the-Match award in the sides 23–3
2016–17 Pro12 semi-final victory against
Ospreys. On 27 May 2017, Saili made his final appearance for Munster when he started against
Scarlets
The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...
in the
2017 Pro12 Grand Final in the
Aviva Stadium
Aviva Stadium (also known as Lansdowne Road) is a sports stadium located in Dublin, Ireland, with a capacity for 51,700 spectators (all seated). It is built on the site of the former Lansdowne Road Stadium, which was demolished in 2007, and r ...
,
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
.
On 21 June 2017, it was announced that Saili had signed for
English Premiership
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
side
Harlequins. Saili played in his first senior game after recovering from an injury on 14 October in a
European Champions Cup game against French side
La Rochelle
La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...
. He came on as a substitute in a 34–27 loss.
Saili left Harlequins to join French
Pro D2
Rugby Pro D2, also known as Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was in ...
club
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. ...
for the 2020–21 season.
References
External links
Harlequins ProfileMunster ProfileBlues ProfileNorth Harbour Profile*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saili, Francis
Living people
1991 births
New Zealand rugby union players
New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent
New Zealand international rugby union players
Auckland rugby union players
North Harbour rugby union players
Blues (Super Rugby) players
Rugby union centres
People educated at St Peter's College, Auckland
Rugby union players from Auckland
Munster Rugby players
Harlequin F.C. players
Biarritz Olympique players
New Zealand expatriate rugby union players
New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in France
Expatriate rugby union players in France
New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England
Expatriate rugby union players in England
New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Ireland
Expatriate rugby union players in Ireland