Sililo Victor Martens (born 27 April 1977 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a former

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 ...

n international

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.

Career

Martens was born in Auckland, New Zealand to a Tongan mother and Australian father. He spent most of his early childhood in Tonga, but moved back to start his education. His high school years were spent at Onehunga High where he went on to play rugby for Auckland and continued through the grades to reach New Zealand Schools status. In 1999 he played for Tonga in 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 ...

which led to a professional rugby contract with English premiership side Worcester. From 2000 to 2002 he played for

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

in the Welsh Premiership. 2002 -2003 he joined fellow Welsh team

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge ...

. During the 2003/2004 Martens joined the short lived Welsh regional side Celtic Warriors. He played is his second Rugby World Cup in 2003 for Tonga. 2004-2008 moved back to the English Premiership with Sale Sharks who went on to win the Guinness Premiership in 2006, to which Martens contributed 15 appearances. In 2008 he played in the Pacific Islands Team which toured the UK. The 2008/2009 season saw Martens return to Welsh rugby joining the

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 ...

. Martens retired at the early age of 34 to concentrate on various business ventures and currently lives in South Wales with his wife Anna Martens and their 4 children. His previous clubs include Worcester, Swansea, Bridgend, Celtic Warriors, Sale Sharks and the Scarlets. Martens acted in the Welsh language soap opera ''

Pobl y Cwm ''Pobol y Cwm'' (''People of the Valley''; ) is a Welsh-language soap opera produced by the BBC since October 1974. The longest-running television soap opera produced by the BBC, ''Pobol y Cwm'' was originally transmitted on BBC One Wales and l ...

'' and went on to play a small role in the film ''

Invictus "Invictus" is a short poem by the Victorian era British poet William Ernest Henley (1849–1903). It was written in 1875 and published in 1888 in his first volume of poems, ''Book of Verses'', in the section ''Life and Death (Echoes)''. Backgr ...

'' along with fellow Tongan Epeli Taione.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martens, Sililo Tongan actors 1977 births Living people Rugby union scrum-halves Sale Sharks players Scarlets players Worcester Warriors players Tongan rugby union players Tonga international rugby union players Pacific Islanders rugby union players Bridgend RFC players Swansea RFC players Tongan people of Australian descent New Zealand people of Tongan descent New Zealand people of Australian descent Tongan expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in Wales Expatriate rugby union players in England Tongan expatriate sportspeople in England New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England Tongan expatriate sportspeople in Wales New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Wales People educated at Onehunga High School