Campese Ma'afu

Campese Ma'afu, (born 19 December 1984) is an Australian professional rugby union player. Ma'afu was selected to the Fiji national squad in 2010 and has gone on to win more than 50 caps. Ma'afu has also played professionally for Cardiff Blues, Nottingham, Provence, Northampton Saints and Leicester Tigers.

Campese Ma'afu
Birth nameGeorge David Campese Ma'afu
Date of birth (1984-12-19) 19 December 1984
Place of birthSydney, Australia
Height1.81 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Weight118 kg (18 st 8 lb; 260 lb)
SchoolGranville Boys High School
Notable relative(s)Salesi Ma'afu (brother)
Apakuki Ma'afu (brother)
Occupation(s)Security
Rugby union career
Position(s) Loosehead prop
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2010–2012 West Harbour ?? (??)
2012–2013 Cardiff Blues 5 (5)
2013–2015 Nottingham 36 (20)
2015–2016 Provence 7 (0)
2016–2018 Northampton Saints 36 (0)
2018–2019 Leicester Tigers 9 (0)
Correct as of 15 May 2019
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2010–Present Fiji 58 (10)
Correct as of 7 September 2019

Career

Family

Campese is the second oldest out 3 brothers, Salesi & Apakuki, born and raised in the Western suburbs of Sydney, he is of Tongan heritage through his father and Fijian heritage on his mother's side. His father and mother hail from the villages of Kolovai & Kadavu, respectively.

The Ma'afu family made an especially interesting mark in rugby history in 2010 when the two brothers, Salesi and Campese, played against each other in a test match between Australia and Fiji. Elder brother Salesi played for the Wallabies at tight-head Prop while younger brother Campese played for Fiji at loose-head prop. A third brother, the youngest, 'Apakuki, plays for Tonga.[1]

Club career

Ma'afu joined Cardiff Blues for the start of the Pro12 2012/13 season.[2] He signed to play for Nottingham R.F.C. in the RFU Championship in the 2013/14 season.[3] He remained at Nottingham until signing for the French Pro D2 club Provence in 2015.

In 2016, he signed for Aviva Premiership side, Northampton Saints with immediate effect from the 2016-17 season.[4]

Ma'afu has since notched up 14 appearances for the Midlands side and most recently helped Saints' second the Northampton Wanderers reach the final of the Aviva 'A' League. Ma'afu and the side beat Gloucester United 36-15 to take the title.[5]

It was announced on 5 June 2017 that Ma'afu would link up with fellow Saints Api Ratuniyarawa and head back to Fiji for the summer international.[6]

After 2 seasons with Northampton, Ma'afu initially signed for Ealing Trailfinders before subsequently joining Leicester Tigers for the 2018/19 season.[7] On 15 May 2019 he was announced as one of the players to leave Leicester following the end of the 2018-19 Premiership Rugby season.[8]

References
  1. "Ratu Apakuki Mocelutu Ma'afu".
  2. "BBC Sport – Campese Ma'afu and Robin Copeland to join Cardiff Blues". BBC Sport.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "Northampton Saints sign Fiji tight-head prop Campese Ma'afu". BBC Sport. 26 February 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  5. "WANDERERS 36 GLOUCESTER 15 the Wandies clinch the Aviva 'A' League title".
  6. "Islanders heading home for summer internationals".
  7. "Tigers add to front-row experience".
  8. "Brendon O'Connor and Mike Fitzgerald among huge number leaving Leicester Tigers at the end of the season". Leicester Mercury. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2019.


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