William Helu (born 19 April 1986) 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 ...

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. His usual position is on the wing or at centre. He is part of the

Tonga national rugby union team The Tonga national rugby union team ( to, timi feohi ʻakapulu fakafonua ʻa Tonga) represents Tonga in men's international rugby union. The team is nicknamed ''Ikale Tahi (Sea Eagles)''. Like their Polynesian neighbours, the Tongans start the ...

and was part of the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

. Helu was part of the Tongan squad that defeated

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in the pool games at the

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 ...

. He signed with

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

on a two-year deal but chose to leave the club for personal reasons after the 2011–2012 season. He was part of the squad that beat

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

21–15 at

Pittodrie Pittodrie Stadium, commonly referred to as Pittodrie, is an all-seater stadium in Aberdeen, Scotland. Used primarily for football, it has been the home ground of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) club Aberdeen F.C. since they wer ...

in 2012. In 2013 he signed with

London Wasps Wasps Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union team. They last played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby until being suspended on 12 October 2022. On 17 October 2022 the club entered administration, resulting in r ...

together with Taione Vea. where he quickly made a name for himself in the aviva premiership and

European 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 i ...

. He had some impressive performances for the club which was recognised by his peers and was voted the award for

players player award for the 2013–2014 season. He played in the 2013 Pacific Nations Cup. In

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

he was part of the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

hosted in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

where he played in 3 games, his last international appearance was vs New Zealand All Blacks in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

, the last pool game for Tonga in the 2015 World Cup. Helu signed a two-year deal with

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

in 2015.

References

External links

Edinburgh Profile
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Helu, William 1986 births Living people Tongan rugby union players Tonga international rugby union players Tongan expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in Italy Tongan expatriate sportspeople in Italy Rugby Roma Olimpic players Rugby union players from Auckland Rugby union centres Wasps RFC players Bristol Bears players USA Limoges players FC Grenoble players SCM Rugby Timișoara players Edinburgh Rugby players Expatriate rugby union players in Scotland Expatriate rugby union players in England Expatriate rugby union players in France Expatriate rugby union players in Romania Tongan expatriate sportspeople in France Tongan expatriate sportspeople in Romania Tongan expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Tongan expatriate sportspeople in Australia Tongan expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate rugby union players in Australia