Robert Valetini (born 3 September 1998) is an Australian rugby union player who plays as a back row forward for the Brumbies in

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

. He has also been capped for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Early life

The son of Fijian parents – father Manueli Valetini and mother Finau Valetini – the Melbourne-born Robert Valetini attended Westall Secondary College. He played representative rugby for Victorian state teams at under-16, under-18 and under-20 levels. A broken leg in his last year at school meant he missed a chance at selection for the 2016 Australian Schoolboys team, but he was called up to play for the

Melbourne Rising The Melbourne Rising is an Australian rugby union team based in Melbourne that competes in the National Rugby Championship (NRC). The team represents the rugby community in Victoria and is organised and managed by Rugby Victoria with the ...

in the National Rugby Championship (NRC) later that season.

Professional career

While still at school, Valetini signed an Extended Playing Squad contract with the Brumbies for the 2017 season. His parents told him the move to Canberra would give him valuable life experience and he was just the second Australian rugby forward to sign a Super Rugby contract while still a schoolboy. Valetini did not play much rugby in the early part of his first year due to hand and ankle injuries, but he joined the team to play in the 2017 World Championship in Georgia. In 2017, Valetini signed a two-year full-time Super Rugby contract with the Brumbies until 2019, before playing NRC for the Canberra Vikings in 2017. Valetini made his international debut for at Bankwest Stadium in Sydney against in September 2019. Valetini was heavily involved with the Wallabies in 2020 and 2021, appearing against New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina.

References

External links

Rob Valetini
at Wallabies
Rob Valetini
at ItsRugby.co.uk

at ESPNscrum {{DEFAULTSORT:Valetini, Rob 1998 births Australian people of Fijian descent Australian people of Scottish descent Australian rugby union players Australia international rugby union players ACT Brumbies players Rugby union flankers Rugby union number eights Living people Melbourne Rising players Canberra Vikings players Rugby union players from Melbourne