Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu
Samoa
player portrait
Full name Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu
Born October 31, 1980, Apia, Western Samoa
Current age 43 years 140 days
Major teams Bath Rugby, Gloucester Rugby, Samoa
Position Centre
Height 5 ft 10 in
Weight 231 lb

Test career
Span Mat Start Sub Pts Tries Conv Pens Drop Won Lost Draw %
All Tests 2005-2011 23 17 6 15 3 0 0 0 11 12 0 47.82
IRB Rugby World Cup 2007-2011 7 4 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 4 0 42.85

Career statistics
Test debut Scotland v Samoa at Murrayfield, Nov 20, 2005 match details
Last Test Samoa v South Africa at North Shore City, Sep 30, 2011 match details
Test Statsguru Main menu | Career summary | Match list | Most points | Most tries | Tournament list

English Premiership
Team Span Mat Start Sub Pts Tries Conv Pens Drop Won Lost Draw %
All matches 2006-2012 87 71 16 35 7 0 0 0 41 41 5 50
Bath Rugby 2006-2009 43 30 13 15 3 0 0 0 18 22 3 45.34
Gloucester Rugby 2009-2012 44 41 3 20 4 0 0 0 23 19 2 54.54
Profile

A powerful midfield runner, Fuimaono-Sapolu made his international debut for Samoa in 2005 and paved the way for a move to the Premiership with Bath by impressing against Scotland and England.

At the 2007 Rugby World Cup he switched to the unfamiliar position of fly-half, playing three games and winning the Man of the Match award against the USA in a poor campaign for Samoa.

In 2009 he made the short move to Gloucester and marked his debut for the Cherry and Whites with a try against his former club, Bath.

In 2011 he was nominated for Rugby Players' Association Player of the Season after helping Gloucester into the play-offs. Prior to his move north, Fuimaono-Sapolu represented New Zealand Universities while studying in Auckland.

The centre was seleceted for Samoa's 2011 World Cup campaign but his tournament will be remembered for a succession of outbursts on Twitter in which he berated the scheduling and officiating of Samoa's pool games. Fuimaono-Sapolu went as far as accusing referee Nigel Owens of racism for his officiating of Samoa's clash with South Africa.

The Samoa centre was charged by the IRB but failed to turn up to the initial hearing. He ultimately received a six-month suspended sentence for his controversial comments.

Fuimaono-Sapolu was back in trouble soon after his return to English domestic action as he was hit with charges from the RFU concerning comments about Saracens' Owen Farrell, disciplinary procedures and IRB.

Latest Articles
Scrum Sevens: Extraordinary rugby rants (Dec 9, 2014) 'All Blacks would have toured Nazi Germany' (May 30, 2014) IRB comes out fighting over Fuimaono-Sapolu omission (May 16, 2012) Fuimaono-Sapolu escapes suspension (Jan 12, 2012) Twitter, whitebaiting and spoiled brats - The Year in Quotes (Dec 24, 2011) Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu news and articles (37) »
Latest Photos
Nov 5, 2011
Gloucester's Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu offers some direction
Gloucester's Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu offers some direction
©  Getty Images
Oct 5, 2011
Samoa's Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu speaks to the media following the adjournment of his judicial hearing
Samoa's Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu speaks to the media following the adjournment of his judicial hearing
©  Getty Images
Sep 30, 2011
Samoa's Eliota Fuimaono Sapolu in action during the Pool D match against South Africa
Samoa's Eliota Fuimaono Sapolu in action during the Pool D match against South Africa
©  Getty Images
Jul 17, 2011
Samoa's Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu celebrates his side's victory
Samoa's Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu celebrates his side's victory
©  Getty Images
Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu rugby photos (11) »

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