Viliami Ofahengaue (born 3 May 1968 in Kolofoou,

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 ...

), widely known as Willie O, is a former

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 it ...

player who earned 41

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

for the

Australian Wallabies The Australia national rugby union team, nicknamed the Wallabies, is the representative national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of Australia. The team first played at Sydney in 1899, winning their first test match against th ...

from 1990 to 1998, and played in the World Cups of

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

and

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

as well as the 1993 World Cup Sevens. Ofahengaue attended Tupou College Toloa in Tonga. He was included in Toloas 1st XV team that was undefeated throughout all the secondary schools in Tonga, it was after his years at Tupou College Toloa where he had the opportunities to travel around Australia and New Zealand through rugby. Ofahengaue played for New Zealand Schoolboys in 1988 and participated in a tour to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. However, on the return trip, he was refused re-entry 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 coun ...

with his Tongan passport so he moved to Australia. It was while playing for the Manly Rugby Club that he was selected for the NSW and Australian teams. He scored 11 Test tries for Australia from the back of the scrum before handing over the No.8 jersey to fellow Tongan

Toutai Kefu Toutai Kefu (born 8 April 1974) is a Tonga-born rugby coach, who earned 60 caps playing at number eight for the Australian national team (the Wallabies). Kefu is currently the head coach of the Tongan national team having previously coached th ...

at the end of 1998.

Coaching

After finishing his playing career in Australia, Ofahengaue worked as player/coach 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 n ...

for the next five years, visiting

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 consis ...

in 2001 to lend assistance to Tonga's Pacific Rim campaign. He became head coach of the '' 'Ikale Tahi'' in January 2004. He has also coached Japanese and Manly club sides. Former Wallabies No.8

Wycliff Palu Wycliff Palu (born 27 July 1982), known as Cliffy Palu, is an Australian former professional rugby union footballer of Tongan descent. He played for the New South Wales Waratahs in Super Rugby and represented in 58 tests. Early life Palu was ...

mentioned Ofahengaue as someone he looked up to during his early career. He now resides in the western suburbs of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

in Sunshine, Victoria with his wife and children where he serves as a minister for the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga. Ofahengaue is the uncle of current

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a joint-venture ...

player

Joe Ofahengaue Joseph Ofahengaue (born 15 September 1995), is a Tonga international rugby league professional footballer who plays as a and for the Wests Tigers in the NRL. He previously played for the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugby League, and ...

Honours

;National honours * The_Most_Illustrious_Order_of_Queen_Salote_Tupou_III_Member

Order of Queen Sālote Tupou III The ''Most Illustrious'' Order of Queen Sālote Tupou III is a knighthood order of the Kingdom of Tonga. History The Order was established on 28 June 2008 by His Late Majesty King George Tupou V to commemorate the grand figure of his grandmot ...

, Member (31 July 2008).

References

External links

Willie Ofahengaue on Sporting Heroes
- Fox Sports Interview {{DEFAULTSORT:Ofahengaue, Viliami 1968 births Living people Australian rugby union coaches Australian rugby union players Australia international rugby union players Tongan emigrants to Australia Rugby union number eights People from Tongatapu New South Wales Waratahs players Members of the Order of Queen Sālote Tupou III Rugby union players from New South Wales Sportsmen from New South Wales