Joseph Soosemea Taufetee (born October 4, 1992) is an American

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player who plays as a hooker and

prop A prop, formally known as a (theatrical) property, is an object actors use on stage or screen during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

for the

Houston SaberCats The Houston SaberCats are an American professional rugby union team based in Houston, Texas, that competes in Major League Rugby (MLR). The team was founded in 2017. The SaberCats organization was born from one of the founding amateur rugby clubs ...

Major League Rugby Major League Rugby (MLR) is a professional rugby union competition in the United States. The league comprises 11 teams. While operating outside of the governance and oversight of the national governing body, the league is officially sanctioned ...

(MLR). A converted

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player, Taufetee has also previously represented the United States by serving as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the

USA Selects The USA Falcons or the USA A national team, 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 ...

. He also plays for the

United States national team The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

. He previously played for

LA Giltinis The LA Giltinis were a Major League Rugby team based in Los Angeles, California, United States. The team was announced in 2020 and entered the league in the 2021 season as an expansion franchise. Owned by Adam Gilchrist and Loyals Rugby, the t ...

Lyon OU Lyon Olympique Universitaire Rugby or LOU is a French professional rugby union team based in Lyon that currently competes in the Top 14, the highest level of the country's professional league system, having been most recently promoted for the 20 ...

in France's

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also ...

Worcester Warriors Worcester Warriors are a professional rugby union club based in Worcester, England. They most recently played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby union, before being suspended by the Rugby Football Union, RFU in September 2 ...

and

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its home ...

Premiership Rugby Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition, consisting of 10 clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby ...

and the San Diego Breakers in

PRO Rugby The Professional Rugby Organization, known as PRO Rugby, was an American professional rugby union competition. PRO began play in April 2016 with five teams and ceased operations by January 2017. The competition was sanctioned by USA Rugby and b ...

Early life

Joe Taufetee was born on October 4, 1992 in Nuʻuuli, American Samoa and raised in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

after moving with his family to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

at the age of five. Of Samoan descent, Taufetee played American football as a youth and aspired to playing in the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

. Taufetee attended

Santa Ana College Santa Ana College is a public community college in Santa Ana, California. History In 1915, Santa Ana Junior College opened its doors to 25 students as a department of Santa Ana High School. It was the second community college founded in Orange ...

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana (Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, California, United States. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census. As ...

and played at

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

for school's football team during the 2010 and 2011 seasons. Taufetee earned multiple All-Conference honors during his time with the team, but an ACL injury ended his aspirations of furthering his career in football.

Rugby career

Club

Taufete'e began playing rugby with the Belmont Shore U-19 team while studying and playing American football at Santa Ana Community College."Interview with Uncapped Eagle Joseph Taufete’e"
Rugby Wrap Up, August 27, 2015. He then went to New Zealand to develop his rugby skills. In early 2016, Taufete'e was signed to a professional contract by the San Diego Breakers. In December 2016, Taufete'e signed a contract to the

in the English Premiership. On February 26, 2020, Taufete signed for French side

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

in the

ahead of the 2020–21 season. In March 2022, following the birth of his child in California, Taufete’e was granted release from Lyon and was subsequently signed by the

. In August 2022 Taufete'e signed for

in England's

. Head coach

Steve Borthwick Stephen William Borthwick (born 12 October 1979) is an English rugby union coach and former player, who is currently the head coach of the England national team. As a player, he played as a lock for Bath and Saracens. At international level, he ...

described Taufete'e as "a powerful player, in attack and defence". He made his debut on September 18, 2022 as a replacement in a 36-21 win over

Newcastle Falcons Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union. The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football Cl ...

at Welford Road. He featured 5 times before leaving Tigers in April 2023 to join

International

The uncapped Taufete'e was a surprise inclusion in the U.S. squad for the

2015 Rugby World Cup The IRB 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was ...

. Taufete'e debuted for the United States at the 2015 Rugby World Cup against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. He also played for the U.S. at the

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, and 2019 Americas Rugby Championships. The USA star has made 22 appearances for the Eagles, scoring 20 tries. This surpasses former

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

great

Keith Wood Keith Wood (born 27 January 1972) is an Irish former rugby union player who played as a hooker at international level for Ireland, and the British & Irish Lions. He also played at club level for Garryowen, Harlequins and Munster. He was n ...

, a hooker, for the most international tries by any player in the tight five (i.e., either a hooker, prop, or

lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...

International tries

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Taufetee, Joseph 1992 births Living people American rugby union players American expatriates in England United States international rugby union players Rugby union props Rugby union hookers San Diego Breakers players Worcester Warriors players American football defensive tackles People from Nuʻuuli Players of American football from American Samoa American sportspeople of Samoan descent Lyon OU Rugby players LA Giltinis players Leicester Tigers players Houston SaberCats players Santa Ana College alumni 2015 Rugby World Cup players 2019 Rugby World Cup players Seattle Seawolves players American expatriate rugby union players in France American expatriate rugby union players in England American Samoan rugby union players New Orleans Gold players Pacific Islander American players of American football