Willie Talau
Apia, Samoa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 5 ft 11.5 in (182 cm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 14 st 10 lb (93 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Centre | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Viliamu "Willie" Talau (born 25 January 1976) is a former professional
Background
Talau was born in Apia, Samoa.
Club career
Early years
Talau attended
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Talau made his debut for Canterbury in round 17 of the 1998 NRL season against South Sydney. Talau scored a try in Canterbury's famous 1998 preliminary final victory over arch-rivals Parramatta. Canterbury were down 18-2 with less than ten minutes of the match remaining but won the game in extra-time 32-20.[3] He played in 101 National Rugby League games for the Canterbury club, scoring 38 tries, including one in the 1998 NRL Grand Final defeat against the Brisbane Broncos.
St Helens
He signed for St. Helens in late 2003. He made his Super League début on 24 August 2003 against
Salford
Talau joined the Super League side the Salford City Reds for the start of the 2009 season.[5][6] He retired from the sport at the end of the 2010 season.
International career
New Zealand
He played for the Junior Kiwis as a youth.
Talau played in 13 games for the New Zealand national rugby league team from 1999 to 2006,
Talau was selected for the New Zealand team to compete in the end of season 1999 Rugby League Tri-Nations tournament. In the final against Australia he played at centre in the Kiwis' 22–20 loss.
He was selected in the Kiwis squad for the 2000 World Cup, playing in the World Cup final defeat to the Kangaroos at Old Trafford.[7][8]
Samoa
In 2007 Talau switched allegiances to Samoa. The following year he represented Samoa in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, playing two matches.[9][10]
Legacy
In 2008 he was named in the Taranaki Rugby League Team of the Century.[11]
References
- ^ loverugbyleague
- ^ a b "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ "NRL rivalries: Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs and Parramatta Eels". www.loverugbyleague.com.
- ^ "2008 Grand Final". BBC. 4 October 2008. Retrieved 5 October 2008.
- ^ "Salford snap up Talau from Saints". BBC. 7 October 2008. Retrieved 10 October 2008.
- ^ "Reds in Talau swoop". Manchester Evening News. 1 October 2008. Retrieved 1 October 2008.
- ^ Report
- ^ Burke, David (26 November 2000). "Hello Sailor; Australia 40 New Zealand 12". Sunday Mirror, The. MGN Ltd.
- ^ "Samoa, Tonga and Fiji name squads". BBC. 8 October 2008. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
- ^ "Samoa name World Cup Squad". League Unlimited. 5 August 2008. Retrieved 6 August 2008.
- ^ "Dream team of century is named". Taranaki Daily News. 14 October 2008. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
External links
- Willie Talau St Helens Career Page at the Saints Heritage Society.
- Willie Talau Bulldogs Profile