Netani Edward Talei (born 19 March 1983 in

Suva Suva () is the capital and largest city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rewa Province, Central Divi ...

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 ...

) 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 plays as a number eight or flanker.

Career

He represented the Fiji U21s in 2004 after earlier studying at

Marist Brothers High School Marist Brothers High School is a Roman Catholic all-boys' high school situated in Suva, the capital of Fiji. It is a school in the Marist tradition, founded in 1946 by the order of Marist Brothers, which has had a presence in Fiji since 1844. ...

and two years at Wesley College (NZ). After his performance with the

Stallions A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" neck ...

in 2006 in which they lifted the Colonial Cup, he joined provincial stalwarts Nadroga. Talei then got the nod for the run-on team in 2006 to help Fiji defeat

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 ...

23–20 in

. In 2007 he was part of the 30-man Fiji squad that reached the quarter-finals of the

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

in France. He played in three pool games before picking up and injury that ruled him out for the rest of the tournament.

Worcester Warriors Worcester Warriors Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union club, based in Worcester, England, that is currently in Administration (law), administration and which has been suspended and will be relegated from Premiership Rugby, the top ...

snapped up

Fiji international The Fiji International was a men's golf tournament in Fiji, sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia. The Fiji International was Fiji's first internationally broadcast golf tournament to a worldwide audience across more than 30 countries in over ...

Talei during the summer, from

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

. The giant back row, who has won fifteen caps for his country, signed a one-year deal at Sixways, with an option for an extension. In March 2008, Worcester opted to extend Talei's contract and he signed a new two-year deal which will keep him at Sixways until 2010. In May 2010, Edinburgh announced that they had signed Talei on a three-year contract. Talei moved to

Newport Gwent Dragons Dragons RFC ( cy, Dreigiau) are one of the four professional rugby union regional teams in Wales. They are owned by the Welsh Rugby Union and play their home games at Rodney Parade, Newport and at other grounds around the region. They play in ...

in the summer of 2013 for the 2013–14 season. He was released by the Dragons in October 2014.talei released bt Dragons
/ref>

References

External links

Worcester Warriors Profile

Guinness Premiership Profile

Fiji Profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Talei, Netani 1983 births People educated at Marist Brothers High School, Fiji Doncaster R.F.C. players Fiji international rugby union players Fijian rugby union players Living people Rugby union flankers Rugby union number eights Worcester Warriors players Dragons RFC players Fijian expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in England Expatriate rugby union players in Scotland Fijian expatriate sportspeople in Wales Rugby union players from Suva Fijian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Fijian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate rugby union players in Wales Edinburgh Rugby players Harlequin F.C. players 2007 Rugby World Cup players 2011 Rugby World Cup players 2015 Rugby World Cup players