Viliame Satala (born 19 July 1972 in

Lautoka Lautoka () is the second largest Local government in Fiji, city in Fiji. It is on the west coast of the island of Viti Levu, in the Ba Province of the Western Division, Fiji, Western Division. Lying in the heart of Fiji's sugar cane-growing r ...

) is a

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

an rugby union footballer. He plays as a

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

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 ...

. His nickname is "The Stretcher" for his ability to flatten opposition players. Satala was named the best outside centre of the 1999 World Cup by Stephen Jones. Tremendously strong with a big sidestep, Satala has become Fiji's favourite backline player since he scored two tries for the Fiji Warriors against the

Super 12 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 ...

Chiefs in February 1999. Satala played at the 1994 Hong Kong 7s, but was overlooked at 15s until the tour of UK in late 1998. His two tries against the Chiefs, when he sidestepped veteran

All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

Walter Little with ease, highlighted his potential, and since then he has been the first choice for the No. 13 shirt. Satala played in all five of Fiji's Epson Cup matches in 1999, and all four of Fiji’s RWC99 matches where he scored four tries. His record of 16 tries in 29 Test matches speaks for itself. Satala is well known for the physical side of his game, the precision timing of his tackles: New Zealanders

Christian Cullen Christian Mathias Cullen (born 12 February 1976) is a retired New Zealand rugby union player. He played most of his rugby at fullback for New Zealand (the All Blacks), for the Hurricanes in the Super 12, and for Manawatu, Wellington and later ...

, Tony Monaghan and Craig DeGoldi all had to leave the field on the IRB 7s circuit after meeting Satala and more recently Australian

Scott Fava Scott Fava (born 19 January 1976 in Kiama, Australia) is an Australian retired rugby union footballer. Super 14 Scott Fava began his Super Rugby career with the Queensland Reds in 1999, playing for three seasons before moving on to the ACT Bru ...

was stretchered off in the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

in 2005. He captained

for several years, then signed on for French club side

Mont-de-Marsan Mont-de-Marsan (; Occitan: ''Lo Mont de Marçan'') is a commune and capital of the Landes department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. Population Military installations The French Air and Space Force operates the ''Constantin Rozan ...

in October 1999. Satala was also in Fiji's winning team at the 1999 Hong Kong 7s, when he played in the forwards. In a club match in France in November 2000, Satala suffered a double fracture to his left arm, an injury that ruled him out of the World Cup 7s in Argentina. He continued his impressive try record with three more in the Rugby World Cup qualifiers in June 2002, then helped Fiji to a silver medal at the

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

before joining

NEC Harlequins Harlequins (officially Harlequin Football Club) is a professional rugby union club that plays in Premiership Rugby, the top level of English rugby union. Their home ground is the Twickenham Stoop, located in Twickenham, south-west London. Foun ...

in London. Satala also very early in his career at the age of 20 had a stint with Sri Lankan Rugby Union side Kandy Sports Club in 1992. Satala's vast experience showed at the 2005 7s World Cup where he helped Fiji raise the

Melrose Cup The Melrose Cup is the main prize of the Rugby World Cup Sevens. The trophy is named after the town of Melrose, Scotland, the birthplace of rugby sevens where in 1883 local butcher boy Ned Haig with help of his boss David Sanderson invited local r ...

aloft at Happy Valley. He has shown interest in wearing the Fiji Jumper for the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 2 ...

. Satala plays for the Toyota Shokki club in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

.Viliame Satala making a Comeback
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Fiji Team

* Test debut: 1999 vs Canada in Vancouver * 29 caps 16 tries 80 pts (36 games 18 tries 90 pts)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Satala, Viliame 1972 births Living people Sportspeople from Lautoka Fijian rugby union players Rugby union centres Rugby union wings Fiji international rugby union players Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Fiji Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Fiji Rugby sevens players at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Male rugby sevens players Rugby sevens players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Fijian expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in Japan Fijian expatriate sportspeople in Japan Fiji international rugby sevens players I-Taukei Fijian people Commonwealth Games medallists in rugby sevens Commonwealth Games rugby sevens players of Fiji