Michael Ratu (born 16 October 1987) is a

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 ...

international

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who plays as a for the

Swinton Lions The Swinton Lions are a professional rugby league club based in Swinton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the Championship. The club has won the Championship six times and three Challenge Cups. Before 1996, the club was known s ...

in the

Betfred Championship The Championship, known as the Betfred Championship for sponsorship reasons, is a professional rugby league competition. It is the second-tier competition organised by the Rugby Football League, the governing body for the sport in England, ...

. His usual position is although he made his First Team début on the as a substitute against

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

in August 2007.

Background

Ratu was born in

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

Greater Manchester, England Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, T ...

, and played junior rugby at

Rochdale Mayfield Rochdale Mayfield are an amateur rugby league football club from Castleton, Rochdale, Greater Manchester. The club currently competes in the top division of the National Conference League. The club also operates academy teams who are known coll ...

Playing career

Before joining Leeds, he played for Higgleshaw Cagies, playing for them when they won the Oldham Cup. He also played for

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

Academy. He signed a three-year contract with Leeds, despite Wigan offering him a new contract. He played for Leeds' academy from 2004. Although he played for Leeds' first team, he mostly played in the academy. He played for the

in the

2009 Pacific Cup The 2009 Pacific Cup, known as the 2009 SP Brewery Pacific Cup due to sponsorship, was a rugby league competition held in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. The competing teams were the , , , , . Tonga, Fiji and PNG had their places in the draw co ...

. Ratu later signed a two-year deal with

Hull Kingston Rovers Hull Kingston Rovers are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England, that competes in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby league. The club has won five league championships, and one Challeng ...

. In 2012, Ratu signed for

Outside rugby

Ratu was schooled at

Falinge Park High School Falinge Park High School is an 11–16 mixed comprehensive school in Shawclough area of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale in Greater Manchester, United Kingdom.

near

Shawclough Shawclough is a mainly residential area to the north of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. Its boundaries are roughly Whitworth Road, Shawclough Road and Healey Corner. Housing Housing, or more generally, living spaces, refers to the co ...

Honours

He has represented England U15s ad U16s and has also played for Lancashire and

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ratu, Michael 1987 births Living people English people of I-Taukei Fijian descent English rugby league players Fiji national rugby league team players Halifax R.L.F.C. players Hull Kingston Rovers players Leeds Rhinos players People educated at Falinge Park High School Rochdale Hornets players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Rochdale Swinton Lions players Wigan Warriors players