Joseph Malaki Tomane (born 11 February 1990) is an Australian 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 ...

footballer. He played inside centre for

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 ...

in the first game of the 18/19 Pro14, and formerly played for the Brumbies in the

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 ...

competition. He has been capped for the

Wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and so ...

Early life

Tomane (pronounced Tor-mah-nee) is of Samoan and Cook Islander descent. He was born in

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

, New Zealand but moved with his family to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, Australia when he was three years old. In Brisbane, Tomane attended Marsden State High School and played rugby league alongside Israel Folau, Antonio Winterstein and Chris Sandow until he moved to

Nudgee College , motto_translation = A Sign of Faith , location = Boondall, Queensland , country = Australia , coordinates = , other_name = St. Joseph's Nudgee College , former_name ...

for his senior year. At Nudgee, he played

alongside

James O'Connor James O'Connor may refer to: Politics and law * James O'Connor (Louisiana politician) (1870–1941), U.S Representative from Louisiana * James F. O'Connor (1878–1945), U.S Representative from Montana * James Francis Thaddeus O'Connor (1886–1 ...

. In 2007, Tomane played for the

Australian Schoolboys The Australian Schoolboys refer to junior teams that represent Australia in various sports. The name is mainly used in rugby league, rugby union and baseball. Other popular team sports in Australia such as cricket, basketball, association footbal ...

, as did O'Connor.

Rugby league

In 2008, Tomane joined the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League. In only his ninth NRL game on 7 June 2009, playing against the Brisbane Broncos, Tomane scored three tries and took on the goal-kicking duties for the night to achieve six goals from nine attempts to bring his total points tally for the night to 24 in the Storm's 48–4 win over the Broncos. Tomane signed with the Gold Coast Titans on a two-year deal starting from 2010. He was also selected in the Samoan training squad in 2010.

Rugby union

In June 2011 Tomane signed a two-year deal with the Brumbies to play in the

competition. Tomane made his International debut playing against Scotland at Hunter Stadium in Newcastle on 5 June 2012. He had limited opportunities in the wet conditions but made a try saving tackle. An ankle injury sustained during training two days later ruled him out of the subsequent test series against Wales. On 5 July 2016, Tomane confirmed that he would be leaving the Brumbies for French club

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

at the end of the season. On 12 June 2018

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 ...

confirmed that they had signed Joe Tomane on a two year deal. His contract was not renewed for the 2020/2021 season and Leinster announced that he would be released on 13 July 2020. On 1 October 2020, Tomane confirmed his move to Japan to join

Ricoh Black Rams Black Rams Tokyo (formerly Ricoh Black Rams) is a Japanese rugby union team in the Japan Rugby League One. Placed 10th in the 2004-2005 season which meant it had to win a play-off against one of the top regional teams to stay in the league, as it d ...

in the Top League competition from the 2020-21 season.

Personal life

In March 2014 Tomane was baptised along with twenty others at the Life Unlimited Church in Charnwood. Tomane was baptised as a child but wasn't religious growing up. However, after he turned his career around Tomane became a devout

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. He now goes to church every week, prays before matches, has tattoos of his favourite bible verses, and pauses to thank God every time he scores a

try Try or TRY may refer to: Music Albums * ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio * ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs * "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987) * "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014) * "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004) * " Try (Ju ...

. He also wants to start a Christian group for athletes in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. Tomane has nine tattoos, most in relation to his Christian faith or Samoan heritage. He also has three stars behind his ear, which are for daughter Starsha. His other favourite rite tattoos are the cross on his left hand and his favourite Bible verse written across his stomach –

Philippians The Epistle to the Philippians is a Pauline epistle of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and Timothy is named with him as co-author or co-sender. The letter is addressed to the Christian c ...

4:13 "I can do all things through Him who gives me strength".

Super Rugby statistics

References

External links

ARU ProfileBrumbies ProfileLeinster ProfilePro14 Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tomane, Joe 1990 births Living people Australian people of Samoan descent Australian people of Cook Island descent Australian people of New Zealand descent Converts to Christianity Australian Christians Australian rugby union players Australian rugby league players ACT Brumbies players Canberra Vikings players Melbourne Storm players Gold Coast Titans players Australia international rugby union players Ipswich Jets players Rugby league centres Rugby union players from Palmerston North Rugby league wingers Rugby league fullbacks Rugby union wings Rugby union centres Rugby union players from Wellington City Barbarian F.C. players Montpellier Hérault Rugby players Australian expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in Ireland Australian expatriate sportspeople in Ireland Sportspeople from Logan, Queensland Leinster Rugby players Black Rams Tokyo players Biarritz Olympique players