Timoci Tavatavanawai Tabaleka (born 14 February 1998) 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 who plays for in the

Bunnings NPC Bunnings Group Limited, trading as Bunnings Warehouse or Bunnings, is an Australian household hardware chain. The chain has been owned by Wesfarmers since 1994, and has stores in Australia and New Zealand. Bunnings was founded in Perth, Wester ...

and the 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 plays on the

Wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

Career

Born and raised in Fiji, Tavatavanawai played for the

Fiji national under-20 rugby union team The Fiji national under 20 rugby team is for Fijian rugby union players aged 20 or under on January 1 of the year during which they are selected. Under 20 age grade rugby came into existence, as a result of the IRB combining the Under 19 Rugby Wo ...

before moving 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 ...

where he started playing for the Central Rugby Club in the Marlborough Region. He was part of both the and wider squads during the

2021 Super Rugby season The 2021 Super Rugby season was the 26th season of Super Rugby, an annual men's international rugby union tournament organised by SANZAAR, involving teams from Australia and New Zealand. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the tournament was wholly reg ...

. He was named in the Tasman Mako squad for the

2021 Bunnings NPC The 2021 Bunnings NPC season was the sixteenth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on August 6, when Manawatu hosted Counties Manukau. It involved the top f ...

. Tavatavanawai made his debut for Tasman in Round 1 of the competition against , starting at number 14 in a 14-27 win for the Mako. After a very impressive first 7 games for Tasman Tavatavanawai was signed by

Moana Pasifika Moana Pasifika is a rugby union team made up of players from various Pacific island nations as well as New Zealand or Australian born players of Pasifika heritage, including Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and the Cook Islands. The team was originally creat ...

in October 2021 for the

2022 Super Rugby Pacific season The 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season (known as Harvey Norman Super Rugby Pacific in Australia and DHL Super Rugby Pacific in New Zealand) is the 27th season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams fr ...

. Tasman went on to make the final before losing 23–20 to . Tavatavanawai made his debut for Moana Pasifika, starting at number 11 in Round 7 of the 2022 season against the .

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tavatavanawai, Timoci Fijian rugby union players 1998 births Living people Rugby union wings People educated at Queen Victoria School (Fiji) Tasman rugby union players Moana Pasifika players Highlanders (rugby union) players Rugby union players from Tailevu Province