Taufa'ao Filise (born May 26, 1977) is a

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 rugby union footballer who played over 250 games for the

Cardiff Blues Cardiff Rugby ( cy, Rygbi Caerdydd) are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby competitions. Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms ...

. Filise was born in

Malapo Malapo is a small village in the eastern district of Tongatapu in the kingdom of Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islan ...

near Nuku’alofa. and attended

Tupou College Tupou College is a Methodist boys' secondary boarding school in Toloa on the island of Tongatapu, Tonga. It is located on the Eastern District of Tongatapu near the village of Malapo. The school is owned by the Free Weslyan Church of Tonga. Estab ...

. He started his professional rugby career in 2000 with Bay of Plenty in the National Provincial Championship. He was selected the following year for

, and would go on to represent

17 times, including playing at the 2007 and 2011 Rugby World Cups. Filise would also represent the Pacific Islanders rugby union team in 2004 and 2006. He was picked up by the

Blues (Super Rugby) The Blues (known as the Auckland Blues from 1996 to 2000) is a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Auckland, who play in the Super Rugby competition. Like New Zealand's four other Super Rugby teams, the Blues were established by ...

for their 2005

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 ...

campaign, and then signed for

Bath Rugby Bath Rugby is a professional rugby union club in Bath, Somerset, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Founded in 1865 as Bath Football Club, since 1894 the club has played at the Recreation Ground in the c ...

on a year contract following that. After his season with Bath, Taufa'ao moved to

for their 2006-2007 Celtic League campaign. He was part of the Cardiff teams that won the 2008–09 Anglo-Welsh Cup and the

2009–10 European Challenge Cup The 2009–10 Amlin Challenge Cup was the 14th season of the European Challenge Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from six nations in European rugby. It started on 8 October 2009 at Sixways Stadium in Worcester, Engla ...

. On December 19, 2015 he became the

most capped player with 183 first class appearances. He made his 250th appearance for the club on 31 December 2017. Filise finished his career playing for the

in the Pro14. During his 13 years in Cardiff, Taufa'au amassed 255 appearances, with 9 tries and became a cult figure earning the nickname "The king of Tonga". His final game for the club was the

European Rugby Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception ...

final in

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

, which

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

won 31-30.

References

External links