- Epi Taione
Epi Taione (born
March 2 ,1979 ) is aTonga n rugby union footballer. He normally plays at rugbycentre but can cover wing or back row forward.He is often referred to as a 'giant' as at 6 feet 4
inch es (1.93 m) tall and 19 stone 6 pounds (123 kg) he is extremely large for a centre or wing.He joined
Sale Sharks in the summer of 2005 on a two year contract; previously he had played for Tynedale andNewcastle Falcons . However, he was released from the contract after the 2005-06 season, and went to Japan to play forSanyo Wild Knights .Taione controversially changed his name to
Paddy Power for the duration of the 2007 Rugby World Cup in a sponsorship deal agreed with the Irish bookmaker. [cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/6977125.stm|title=Paddy to Power Tonga to victory? |date=2007-09-04 |accessdate=2007-09-05 |publisher=bbc.co.uk]In the 2008 Super 14 he was suspended for five weeks after headbutting a Wellington Hurricanes player, and was also suspended for 2 weeks in the Pacific Nations Cup after dangerously tackling New Zealand Maori Number Eight Tom Waldrom.
References
External links
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