Rob Valetini
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Birth name | Robert Valetini | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 3 September 1998 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 113 kg (249 lb; 17 st 11 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Westall Secondary College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rob Valetini (born 3 September 1998) is an Australian rugby union player who plays for the Brumbies in the Super Rugby competition [1] and has also been capped for Australia.[2] His usual position is in the back row.[3]
Early life[]
The son of Fijian parents – father Manueli Valetini and mother Finau Valetini – the Melbourne-born Robert Valetini attended Westall Secondary College.[4][5] He played representative rugby for Victorian state teams at under 16, under 18 and under 20 levels.[3] A broken leg in his last year at school meant he missed a chance at selection for the 2016 Australian Schoolboys team,[6] but he was called up to play for the Melbourne Rising in the National Rugby Championship (NRC) later that season.[6]
Rugby career[]
While still at school, Valetini signed an Extended Playing Squad contract with the Brumbies for the 2017 season.[6] His parents told him the move to Canberra would give him valuable life experience and he was just the second Australian rugby forward to sign a Super Rugby contract while still a schoolboy.[7]
Valetini didn't play much rugby in the early part of his first year due to hand and ankle injuries, but he joined the Australia Under-20 team to play in the 2017 World Championship in Georgia.[2] In 2017, Valetini signed a two-year full-time Super Rugby contract with the Brumbies until 2019,[8] before playing NRC for the Canberra Vikings in 2017.[2]
He made his international debut for Australia at Bankwest Stadium in Sydney against Samoa in September 2019.[9]
References[]
- ^ "Rob Valetini - Brumbies". Brumbies Rugby. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "Rob Valetini". It's Rugby. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Rob Valetini". Ultimate Rugby. Archived from the original on 16 October 2017. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
- ^ "Young Robert Valetini extends contract with Brumbies". Fijian Community Association Victoria. 30 August 2017. Archived from the original on 3 November 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
- ^ Dutton, Chris (29 December 2016). "ACT Brumbies rookie Rob Valetini hits like a freight train, but still learning to drive". The Canberra Times. Archived from the original on 25 January 2017. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "Schoolboy Robert Valentini called up to make his debut for Melbourne Rising". The Daily Telegraph. 30 September 2016. Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
- ^ Dutton, Chris (29 May 2017). "ACT Brumbies junior Rob Valetini wants to prove himself in Australian under-20s team". The Canberra Times. Archived from the original on 16 October 2017. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
- ^ "Valetini signs until 2019". Rugby Australia. 29 August 2017. Archived from the original on 3 November 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
- ^ "Australia 34–15 Samoa". ESPN. 7 September 2019.
- 1998 births
- Australian people of Fijian descent
- Australian people of Samoan descent
- Australian people of Scottish descent
- Australian rugby union players
- Australia international rugby union players
- Brumbies players
- Rugby union flankers
- Rugby union number eights
- Living people