Michael Tagicakibau (born 9 May 1985) is a Fijian

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. He is the brother of former

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

international winger

Sailosi Tagicakibau Sailosi Tagicakibau (born 14 November 1982) is a rugby union footballer who has played at wing for London Irish and Wasps in the Aviva Premiership. He spent the majority of his career with English Premiership side London Irish, making in exce ...

. He has signed to play for Manawatu in the

Mitre 10 Cup The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in t ...

Career

He is currently playing for the professional Italian team Benetton Treviso, having joined from Welsh region

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 ...

and played in the English club,

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

until July 2014. He has also played for

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

. His usual position is on the

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 ...

. Prior to joining Saracens, he was playing for London Welsh in

National League 1 National One (last season known as National League 1 and previously known before September 2009 as National Division Two), is the third of three national leagues in the domestic rugby union competition of England. It was known as Courage Leagu ...

and after an impressive first full season in English rugby, Saracens' then-Director of Rugby

Brendan Venter Brendan Venter (born 29 December 1969), is a South African general practitioner and rugby union coach and former player. Venter played at centre and earned 17 caps for South Africa between 1994 and 1999. He played as a replacement in the 1995 R ...

signed him up for the 2009/10 season. He has played internationally for Fiji unlike his brother who played internationally for

. Tagicakibau played in the Air NZ Cup for

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dist ...

before attending the trials for the

Flying Fijians The Fiji national rugby union team represents Fiji in men's international rugby union competes every four years at the Rugby World Cup, and their best performances were the 1987 and 2007 tournaments when they defeated Argentina and Wales resp ...

in 2007. He was part of the Fiji squad for the

2007 Pacific Nations Cup The 2007 IRB Pacific Nations Cup was a rugby union competition held between six Pacific Rim sides; Australia A, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Tonga and the Junior All Blacks (New Zealand's second XV). This was the first year that Australia A had competed &n ...

and made his debut 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 ...

in June 2007 at

Churchill Park, Lautoka Churchill Park is a multi-purpose stadium in Lautoka, Fiji. It is currently used mostly for football matches and hosts the home matches of Lautoka F.C. The Stadium also hosts International Rugby matches such as the Pacific Nations Cup and the Pa ...

and though he did not make the squad for the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 2 ...

, he impressed the

London Welsh London Welsh Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Cymry Llundain) was a rugby union club formed in 1885. Based in Old Deer Park, Richmond-upon-Thames, London Welsh RFC played in the English Premiership in the 2012–13 and 2014–15 seasons, ...

team who he joined on February 2008.

External links

Fiji profile

Saracens profile

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tagicakibau, Michael 1985 births Fijian rugby union players Living people Rugby union wings Saracens F.C. players Scarlets players Fiji international rugby union players New Zealand people of I-Taukei Fijian descent New Zealand people of Fijian descent New Zealand expatriate rugby union players Fijian expatriate rugby union players in England New Zealand expatriate rugby league players in England Taranaki rugby union players Rugby union players from Auckland 2011 Rugby World Cup players Benetton Rugby players Fijian expatriate rugby union players in Italy People educated at Wesley College, Auckland