Maama Molitika (26 August 1974) is a

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 ...

n former

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 is 6'5". He has played numerous times for the national Tongan team, making his debut in June 1997 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 ...

. He was also in the

Pacific Islanders rugby union team The Pacific Islanders was a combined international rugby union team that played from 2004 to 2008. It represented Fiji, Samoa and Tonga; Niue and the Cook Islands also supplied players to the squad for their tour in 2004. The team did not play at R ...

squad that toured Europe in 2006. He played as a blind-side flanker. Molitika was born in

Haʻapai Haʻapai is a group of islands, islets, reefs, and shoals in the central part of Tonga. It has a combined land area of . The Tongatapu island group lies to its south, and the Vavaʻu group lies to its north. Seventeen of the Haʻapai islands are ...

in Tonga and 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 ...

as a teenager. After playing rugby at school in new Zealand he returned to Tong ain 1996 for a holiday, and was invited to train with the national side. In 2002–03 he was

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge ...

's joint top

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 ...

scorer of the season, and was a part of the team that went on to win the Welsh Premiership for the first time in the club's history. Following the regionalisation of Welsh rugby in 2003–04, he joined the now defunct Celtic Warriors, and played the one season that the region existed for, including playing for them in the

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 ...

. After the Warriors were dissolved at the end of the 2003–04 season, he signed to play for

Harlequin F.C. Harlequins (officially Harlequin Football Club) is a professional rugby union club that plays in Premiership Rugby, the top level of English rugby union. Their home ground is the Twickenham Stoop, located in Twickenham, south-west London. Foun ...

in the English premiership. He then moved to Welsh region the

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 2006 he went to Japan and played for Japanese team IBM Big Blue. However, it was announced in 2007 that he would be returning to the Cardiff Blues to cover for players that would be absent due to Wales' World Cup campaign, as well as covering for any injured players. On his return to the Cardiff Blues, Molitika dispelled previous concerns that his standard of play would have decreased from a year in the less-competitive Japanese League, with some outstanding performances for the Cardiff Blues. Molitika had established himself as the teams' first-choice flanker with his effective ball-carrying and his tireless work-rate winning much praise from coaches and fans alike. Maama in the 2012-13 season will be hired by the

Rugby San Donà Rugby San Donà is an Italian rugby union club based in San Donà di Piave, in the Metropolitan City of Venice. “Associazione Rugby San Donà” was founded in 1959, by a group of passionate pioneers, and, in the same year affiliated to the Ita ...

, a newly promoted Italian team that were excelling after winning the Serie A 2011-2012. Maama became a very important man for the Venetian team. Maama also has a brother, Haloti Molitika, who is currently playing for Worcester Rugby Club's Academy side. Maama also coached local rugby Team Sully Sports Rfc who play in the WRU Div 7 league and university side Bedfordshire Bull's Luton campus team. Molitika retired from rugby in 2020.

References

External links

Cardiff profileMa'ama Molitika
on ercrugby.com

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Molitika, Maama 1974 births Living people Rugby union players from Haʻapai Cardiff Rugby players Tongan rugby union coaches Tongan rugby union players Harlequin F.C. players Barbarian F.C. players Bridgend RFC players Tonga international rugby union players Pacific Islanders rugby union players Tongan expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in Japan Expatriate rugby union players in Wales Expatriate rugby union players in England Tongan expatriate sportspeople in England Tongan expatriate sportspeople in Wales Tongan expatriate sportspeople in Japan Ampthill RUFC players 2007 Rugby World Cup players Rugby union flankers Rugby union number eights Tongan expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate rugby union players in Italy