By Falcon1 (28/04/03)
November 18 2004

Epeli "Epi" Taione

Few things are more guaranteed to incite a heated debate amongst Falcons' supporters than the thorny issue of whether Epi Taione is a flanker or a winger. Except, perhaps, whether he should be played from the start of a game or as an impact player late in the game. Epi is one of those players – Lomu and Campese being other examples – who create a buzz amongst spectators of both sides the moment they sense that the ball is heading his way. There is a palpable sense of nervous excitement – will he imperiously bounce tacklers off as he majestically strides up the pitch, or will he be tackled and lose the ball on contact. Who knows?

A late arrival on the rugby scene, Taione’s early sporting success came on the athletics track. As a 400metres runner and hurdler he took part in the World Junior Championships in Pert, Australia. T 16, however, he won a scholarship to Matamata College in Waikato, New Zealand, and it was there that he took up rugby. Against the competition posed by New Zealanders, he made the Waikato Schools and North Island Schools squads.

Taione’s arrival in the North East was the result of a desire to spend a few weeks in England - about which only told his parents by telephone once he was at the airport! – and a link with Tynedale. A fellow pupil at Matamata College was Edward Halford, whose father Richard was the president of Tynedale RFC. Taione, and his friend Soa Otuvaka, turned up at Tynedale at the end of 1997 and have never looked back.

In two and half seasons at Tynedale, Taione learned ‘how to play rugby and how to drink’, during which time the club gained promotion. That the rugby took precedence over the drinking was thanks to a friendship forged with Inga Tuigamala, who Taione describes as ‘like a parent as well as a good friend’. Attending training sessions at Kingston Park with Tuigamala, it was not long before Taione caught the eye of Rob Andrew, who promised him a place at the Falcons if he married an English girl or won an international cap. Taione duly gained the first of his (to date seven) caps for Tonga in the 1999 Pacific Rim Tournament. He describes the time he pulled on a Tongan jersey for the first time as his favourite moment in rugby: his worst moment was the 101 – 10 defeat by England in the 1999 World Cup.

The Newcastle Director of Rugby kept his promise and Taione’s first game for the Falcons came on 6 September 2000 in a 19-18 defeat to Gloucester at Kingston Park. Taione made an immediate impact – after only 18 minutes: an enthusiastic body-check earned Taione a yellow card!

Since then Taione has experienced more controversy – particularly in games against Gloucester – but also provided many moments of magic to the delight of Falcons supporters, whether as a flanker or a winger.

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Profile by Falcon1 last updated 28/04/03 Photo courtesy of Newcastle Falcons

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