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 its m ...
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 the ...
from 1990 to 1998, and played in the World Cups of
1991 and
1995 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 state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. 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 count ...
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 north ...
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 consists ...
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 met ...
in
Sunshine, Victoria
Sunshine is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Brimbank local government area. Sunshine recorded a population of 9,445 at the .
Sunshine, initially a town jus ...
with his wife and children where he serves as a minister for the
Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga
The Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga (FWCT; Tongan: ''Siasi Uēsiliana Tau‘atāina ‘o Tonga'') is a Methodist denomination in Tonga. It is the largest Christian denomination in the nation and is often mistaken to be its state church. It has it ...
.
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.
Honours
;National honours
*
Order of Queen Sālote Tupou III, 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