Mikaele Pesamino (born 2 April 1984) is a

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 in the Samoa Sevens team. He was the highest point scorer in the 2009–2010 IRB Sevens World Series helping his country in securing their first World Series crown and was awarded the 2010 IRB World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year.

Early sporting career

Pesamino was born in

Vailele Vailele is a village situated on the central north coast of Upolu island in Samoa. Vailele is in the electoral constituency (''faipule district'') of Vaimauga East in the larger political district of Tuamasaga. The village is less than ten minu ...

on the island of

Upolu Upolu is an island in Samoa, formed by a massive basaltic shield volcano which rises from the seafloor of the western Pacific Ocean. The island is long and in area, making it the second largest of the Samoan Islands by area. With approximatel ...

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 ...

. Pesamino was first discovered for his speed, when he represented Leifiifi College in the annual Champ of Chapms athletic competition. But ever since, he focused on his rugby career. His career began in both rugby union and

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

. While still a teenager, he was a member of the

Samoan national Australian rules football team The Samoan national Australian rules football team, nicknamed the Kangaroos ( sm, Kāgalū), represents Samoa in the team sport of Australian rules football. The team is selected from the best Samoan born players, who are currently mostly pla ...

during the

2002 Australian Football International Cup The 2002 Australian Football International Cup was the inaugural international Australian rules football tournament held in Melbourne, Australia in 2002. 11 nations participated from around the world and the tournament was officiated by the In ...

(where he was named in the All-International team), and then the 2005 Australian Football International Cup.

Samoa sevens

Pesamino was the third highest try scorer in the 2007–2008 Sevens Series and the top try scorer in the 2009–2010 Series winning season. Pesamino scored a try in the final of the 2007 Wellington Sevens to help give Samoa its first-ever tournament win with a 17-14 victory over Fiji in the final. The

Samoa national rugby sevens team The Samoa national rugby sevens team, referred to as Samoa Sevens or Manu Samoa 7s, competes in the annual World Rugby Sevens Series. Representing the polynesian country of Samoa, with a population of about 202,000, the team competes against so ...

plays in the

IRB Sevens World Series The World Rugby Men's Sevens Series is an annual series of international rugby sevens tournaments run by World Rugby featuring national sevens teams. Organised for the first time in the 1999–2000 season as the IRB World Sevens Series, the com ...

, which takes place annually in several countries.

Fifteens career

Pesamino played provincial rugby 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 the

Air New Zealand Cup The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

. Pesamino signed for

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks is a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Originally founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club, now a distinct amateur club, they adopted the n ...

in summer 2010 for the 2010/2011 season. However, Pesamino had issues with his work visa, and Pesamino's transfer was further delayed by Pesamino's involvement with Samoa in the 2010 Commonwealth Games and then Samoa's November tour of Europe.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pesamino World Rugby Awards winners Male rugby sevens players Samoan rugby union players People from Tuamasaga 1984 births Living people Samoa international rugby union players Samoan expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in New Zealand Expatriate rugby union players in England Samoan expatriate sportspeople in England Sale Sharks players Samoa international rugby sevens players Rugby union wings Samoan players of Australian rules football