Sione Fakaʻosilea

Romania international rugby union player (born 1987)

Rugby player

1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)Weight109 kg (17 st 2 lb; 240 lb)Rugby union career

Senior career
Position(s)	Centre
Current team	Baia Mare
Years	Team	Apps	(Points)
2014–	Baia Mare		()
Correct as of 20 March 2017
International career
Years	Team	Apps	(Points)
2017–2018	Romania	13	(20)
Correct as of 27 March 2018
National sevens team
Years	Team		Comps
2013	Tonga 7s		1 (0 pts)

Sione Fakaʻosilea (born 13 January 1987) is a rugby union player from Tonga. He plays in the centre position for professional SuperLiga club Baia Mare.^[1]^[2]

He played for the Tonga national rugby sevens team in 2013 and went on to play for Romania's national 15-a-side team, making his international debut at the 2017 Rugby Europe Championship in a match against the Russian Medvedi.^[3] However, after featuring in 13 internationals for Romania, including six in Rugby World Cup qualification matches for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, questions were raised over Fakaʻosilea's eligibility to represent Romania.^[4]^[5]^[6] As Fakaʻosilea had previously represented Tonga in Sevens rugby at the 2013 Gold Coast Sevens, this rendered him ineligible to represent Romania under World Rugby rules on switching nationalities.^[4]

Honours

Baia Mare

SuperLiga: 2014

References

^ "Sione Fakaʻosilea's SuperLiga Profile". 20 March 2017.
^ "Sione Fakaʻosilea's Baia Mare Profile". 20 March 2017.
^ "Romania Rugby Union debuts". 20 March 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Serious Questions asked of Romanian player eligibility". Americas Rugby News. 26 March 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
^ "Rugby-Russia Seeks Clarification on Romanian Player Eligibility". The New York Times. 27 March 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
^ "Eligibility controversy in World Cup 2019 qualifying". Rugby World. 28 March 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2018.