Vili Tolutau (born January 26, 1994) is an American

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 as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for the

New England Free Jacks The New England Free Jacks are a professional rugby union team in Major League Rugby (MLR) based in the Greater Boston area. They were announced in September 2018 and began to compete professionally in October 2018. They competed in their first ...

Major League Rugby Major League Rugby (MLR or USMLR) is a professional rugby union competition and the top-level championship for clubs in North America. In the 2022 season it was contested by thirteen teams: twelve from the United States and one from Canada. Off ...

(MLR). He also represents America playing for the United States men's national team. Prior to joining the Free Jacks, Tolutau played for the

Seattle Seawolves The Seattle Seawolves are an American professional rugby union team based in Tukwila, Washington. The team was founded in 2017 and competes in Major League Rugby (MLR), the top-level rugby union competition in the United States that began play ...

for 2 full seasons and the shortened 2020 MLR season. Tolutau was a part of two-time championship winning Seawolves in 2018 and 2019, as well as being the MVP of the Championship Match in 2018. Tolutau previously represented the United States at the international level with several age-grade sides. Tolutau also previously played for the

USA Falcons The USA Falcons was one of two national representative rugby union teams from the United States that competed in the North America 4 Series. History Formation The Falcons were founded in 2005 by the NA4 Committee. The NA4 Committee is made up of ...

, the developmental side for the United States men's national rugby sevens team.

Early life

Vili Tolutau was born on January 26, 1994. Tolutau attended Baldwin High School and began playing rugby with the Maui Warriors as a teenager. After graduating from Baldwin High School, Tolutau attended

Central Washington University Central Washington University (CWU) is a public university in Ellensburg, Washington. Founded in 1891, the university consists of four divisions: the President's Division, Business and Financial Affairs, Operations, and Academic and Student Life ...

, playing for the school's rugby teams and graduating in June 2018 with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

construction management Construction management (CM) is a professional service that uses specialized, project management techniques and software to oversee the planning, design, construction and closeout of a project. The purpose of Construction management is to control ...

Club career

It was announced in April 2018 that Tolutau had signed with the Seattle Seawolves for

's (MLR) inaugural 2018 season. Tolutau made his debut for the Seawolves on April 23, appearing as a first half substitute in a 39–23 victory over

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

. Tolutau scored his first try for the Seawolves on April 29, starting at flanker in a 19–15 defeat to

Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''. It may refer to: Places Australia * Glendale, New South Wales ** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre *Glendale, Queensland, ...

. Tolutau was named

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

(equivalent to

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

) in the

2018 Major League Rugby Final The 2018 Major League Rugby Final was the championship match of the inaugural season of Major League Rugby (MLR), a rugby union club competition in the United States. It was played on July 7, 2018, at Torero Stadium in San Diego, California, betw ...

, as the Seawolves won the championship match 23–19. Tolutau was also named to the All-MLR First Team, at flanker, for the 2018 season.

International career

USA High School All-Americans

Tolutau first represented the United States as a member of the United States men's national under-19 team (High School All-Americans) for two consecutive years, while a member of the Maui Warriors.

USA Junior All-Americans

Tolutau represented the United States playing for the United States men's national under-20 team (Junior All-Americans) in the

2013 IRB Junior World Championship The 2013 IRB Junior World Championship was the sixth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. The event was organised in France by rugby's governing body, the IRB. A total of twelve nations played in the tournament ...

USA Collegiate All-Americans

Tolutau played for the United States men's national under-23 team (Collegiate All-Americans) for two years.

USA Selects

In September 2018, it was announced that Tolutau had been selected for the

USA Selects The USA Falcons, formerly known as the USA Selects, is the second national rugby team for the United States, usually used for uncapped matches and domestic club sides. The primary national team is known as the USA Eagles or the United States natio ...

roster for the 2018 Americas Pacific Challenge (APC). Tolutau made his debut with the Selects on October 6, 2018, appearing as a substitute and scoring a try, in the Selects' 39–30 defeat to

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 ...

in the APC.

USA Eagles

Tolutau made his debut with the USA Eagles on June 23, 2018, appearing as a substitute (playing at flanker), in the Eagles' 42–17 victory against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in a mid-year test.

USA Falcons

Tolutau has competed for the USA Falcons, the developmental side for the United States men's national rugby sevens team, at the Las Vegas Invitational Tournament.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tolutaʻu, Vili 1994 births Living people American rugby union players United States international rugby union players Rugby union flankers Sportspeople from Hawaii Seattle Seawolves players Rugby union hookers New England Free Jacks players