Sione Tulimaiau Mafileo (born 14 April 1993) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer who currently plays as a prop for North Harbour in the ITM Cup and the Chiefs in the international Super Rugby competition.[1][2][3][4]
| Full name | Sione Tulimaiau Mafileo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 14 April 1993 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Auckland, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 178 cm (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 128 kg (282 lb; 20 st 2 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Wesley College St Kentigern College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Early career edit
Mafileo attended Wesley college and excelled in Rugby playing the role of a bust-out prop with excellent speed & acceleration. He later attended Saint Kentigern College in Auckland and won the Auckland schools competition with them in 2012.[3]
Senior career edit
Despite being named in North Harbour's squad for the 2013 ITM Cup, serious illness prevented him from making any appearances that year.[3] He managed to make it onto the field the following season, but was merely a bit part player, playing 3 times. 2015 was when he really started to establish himself as Harbour's first choice in the number 3 jersey, he played 9 times that season, all of his appearances coming from the start. He continued to be a regular in North Harbour's Championship winning season in 2016, playing in all 12 of their games during the campaign and scoring his first ever provincial try as Harbour upset the more fancied Wellington and Otago to win promotion to the Mitre 10 Cup Premiership for 2017.[2]
Super Rugby edit
Despite only having 3 provincial appearances under his belt at the time, Mafileo was called up by the Blues to provide front-row injury cover in the latter part of the 2015 Super Rugby season. He debuted in a New Zealand derby match against the Crusaders and made one other appearance from the replacements bench before the campaign was out.[5] The Blues, under new head-coach Tana Umaga retained his services for 2016 and he went on to play 6 times during the year, including his first 2 starts for the franchise.[2] He was again named in the Blues squad for the 2017 season.[3]
International edit
Mafileo was a New Zealand Schoolboys representative in 2011 and was a member of the New Zealand Under 20 which competed in the 2013 IRB Junior World Championship in France where he made 5 appearances.[6][7]
Career Honours edit
North Harbour
Super Rugby Statistics edit
- As of 26 November 2016[2]
| Season | Team | Games | Starts | Sub | Mins | Tries | Cons | Pens | Drops | Points | Yel | Red |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Blues | 2 | 0 | 2 | 71 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | Blues | 6 | 2 | 4 | 159 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 8 | 2 | 6 | 230 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
References edit
- ^ "Sione Mafileo North Harbour Player Profile". Harbour Rugby. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
- ^ a b c d "Sione Mafileo itsrugby.co.uk Player Statistics". itsrugby.co.uk. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
- ^ a b c d "Sione Mafileo Blues Player Profile". Blues Rugby. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
- ^ "Blues 2017 Squad Guide" (PDF). All Blacks.com. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
- ^ "Blues coach Sir John Kirwan names young side to take on Crusaders in Auckland". Rugby Heaven. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- ^ "NZU20 squad named for IRB World Champs in France". All Blacks.com. 25 April 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
- ^ "Sione Mafileo New Zealand U20 Player Profile". All Blacks.com. Retrieved 26 November 2016.