Sonatane Takulua (born 11 January 1991) is a Tongan

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 in the Scrum-Half position for the French based

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

side,

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

. Takulua also represents

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 ...

at international level.

Early life

Takalua was born in Lapaha,

and moved to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

with his family when he was 11.

Career

In 2012, Takulua was signed by after a year on a development contract. In 2014, he was signed by the on a development contract. Although he was named in the matchday squad in two consecutive matches, he failed to make an appearance in the matches against the and the . On 26 February 2015. Takulua left Northland to sign for English side

Newcastle Falcons Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union. The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football Cl ...

in the

Premiership Rugby Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

with immediate effect. His impressive performances led him to sign a four-year contract extension to stay with the club until 2022. On 24 February 2020, Takulua was granted his early release from Newcastle to sign for French giants

in the

competition with immediate effect.

References

External links

* * Living people 1991 births Tongan expatriate rugby union players Tonga international rugby union players Northland rugby union players Rugby union scrum-halves Tongan emigrants to New Zealand Tongan rugby union players People from Tongatapu {{Tonga-rugbyunion-bio-stub