Francis Meli
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Full name | Francis Meli | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Apia, Western Samoa | 27 April 1979|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 188 cm (6 ft 2 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 100 kg (15 st 10 lb)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Wing, Centre | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Francis Meli (born 27 April 1979) is a former professional
Background
Born in Apia, Samoa on 27 April 1979, Meli grew up in the Auckland suburb of Titirangi,[4] Meli began his rugby league career at the age of 9 when he joined the Avondale Wolves.[5] He eventually joined City Marist and played for the Marist Saints in the Auckland Rugby League.
Club career
New Zealand Warriors
Meli was then signed by the
He played for the Warriors on the wing in their
Meli scored a club record 23 tries for the Warriors in the
St Helens
At the start of 2006 Meli joined St. Helens. He played for St Helens on the wing in their 2006 Challenge Cup Final victory against the Huddersfield Giants.
St Helens reached the
As 2006 Super League champions, St Helens faced 2006 NRL Premiers the Brisbane Broncos in the 2007 World Club Challenge. Meli played on the wing in the Saints' 18-14 victory.
In his first three years at the club he acquired three Challenge Cup winning medals, a World Club Challenge winning medal and a Grand Final winning ring. He also played in 2008's
Visa issues due to the United Kingdoms new requirements curtailed the start of his 2009 campaign, however these issues were suffered by many imports that season.[10] He arrived back in the country five rounds late and was forced to start his season in the reserves.[11]
He played in the 2009 Super League Grand Final defeat by the Leeds Rhinos at Old Trafford.[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]
At the start of 2010 Meli was granted compassionate leave to briefly return to New Zealand.[24][25]
He played in the 2011 Super League Grand Final defeat by the Leeds Rhinos at Old Trafford.[26][27]
Salford Red Devils
Meli played for Super League side Salford Red Devils for the 2014 season after signing a one-year contract at the club. Meli retired at the conclusion of the 2014 season after failing to be offered a new contract.[28]
International career
Samoa
Meli played for Samoa in the 2000 World Cup.[29]
New Zealand
In 2001 he then switched allegiance to New Zealand, playing in 14 test matches between 2001 and 2004.
Meli was selected to play on the wing for New Zealand in the 2004 Anzac Test against Australia in Newcastle, New South Wales, the Kiwis losing to the Kangaroos 10-37. At the end of the season he was also selected to play for New Zealand on the wing in all four of their matches at the 2004 Rugby League Tri-Nations.
Samoan return
In 2008 Meli played for Samoa in the World Cup.[30][31]
Meli was named in the Samoan squad for the 2009 Pacific Cup.[32]
Exiles
Meli was selected to play for the
Post-playing career and personal life
In 2022, Meli was drafted in as a replacement for Shontayne Hape as a on-field player for Match Fit. He is also the mental health coach for the group as he is child case manager with New Zealand Police since retiring from the game. He has a wife and 3 girls, as of 2022, the oldest was 16 and the youngest 2.[33]
References
- ^ "Meet the Teams First Team Players". web page. Saints RFC. 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
- ^ a b "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ loverugbyleague
- ^ Meli gets ready to sock it to them Archived 24 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Western Leader, 13 March 2003
- One Sport. 14 April 2005. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
- ^ Richard Becht Backs To The Future Scoop Sport, 16 March 2000
- ^ Francis Meli will play his 50th NRL match for the Warriors Archived 24 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Western Leader, 4 April 2003
- ^ Warrior makes it to 100 Archived 24 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Western Leader, 27 May 2005. p.1.
- ^ "2008 Grand Final". BBC. 4 October 2008. Retrieved 5 October 2008.
- ^ Brad Walter and Maria Tsialis Held up: Australian players in limbo after changes to processing of visa applications Sydney Morning Herald, 6 February 2009
- TheGuardian.com. 18 March 2009.
- ^ "Rhinos Take Super League Title". Sky News. 11 October 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- ^ Burke, David (11 October 2009). "Smith's Crisp". The Daily Mirror. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- ^ AFP (11 October 2009). "Leeds makes it Super League hat-trick". ABC News. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- ^ AAP (11 October 2009). "Leeds claim third successive Grand Final". nrl.com. Archived from the original on 3 October 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- ^ Linfoot, Ben (10 October 2009). "Grand Final: Leeds Rhinos 18 St Helens 10". Sky Sports. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- ^ Correspondent (12 October 2009). "Potter refuses to blame video ref". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- ^ Fletcher, Paul (10 October 2009). "St Helens 10-18 Leeds Rhinos". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- ^ "Third time unlucky as Saints fail to halt Rhinos' charge to title". Liverpool Daily Post. 12 October 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- ^ "Sinfield hails winning culture". The Daily Mirror. 11 October 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- ^ Stewart, Rob (12 October 2009). "Lee Smith targets place in England rugby union team after Grand Final victory". The Telegraph. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- ^ "Sinfield hails historic title win". BBC Sport. 11 October 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- ^ "Leeds Rhinos fans in homecoming welcome". Yorkshire Evening Post. 12 October 2009. Archived from the original on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- ^ Francis Meli returns home as St Helens impress in testimonial The Guardian, 22 January 2010
- ^ Saints Clear Meli to Head Home sportinglife.com
- ^ "Leeds claim Grand Final glory as inspired Rob Burrow sinks St Helens". Guardian. 8 October 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
- ^ "St Helens 16 Leeds 32". Daily Telegraph. 8 October 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
- ^ "Meli won't be offered new Salford deal". 21 August 2014.
- ^ Shawn Dollin, Andrew Ferguson and Bill Bates. "Samoa vs. New Zealand Maori". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
- ^ "Samoa name World Cup Squad". League Unlimited. 5 August 2008. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
- ^ "Samoa, Tonga and Fiji name squads". BBC. 8 October 2008. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
- ^ Poching names strong Samoan squad Archived 10 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine therhinos.co.uk, 6 October 2009
- ^ "Match Fit Season 3 Ep 4 | SPORT | ThreeNow". www.threenow.co.nz. Retrieved 6 May 2023.