Toutai Kefu
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Toutai Kefu (born April 8, 1974 in Tonga) is a rugby player who won 60 caps playing at Number eight for the Australian rugby union side (the Wallabies). Big, quick and powerfully built, he was a stand out school boy performer before making his international test debut at the age of 23 on 23 August, 1997 as a replacement during the 1997 Tri Nations Series match against South Africa. He took over the position of number 8 from fellow tongan Willie Ofahengaue in 1998 when he gained his first starting appearance with Australia in their record 76-0 win over England. This score remains the biggest losing margin that England has suffered.
He played a vital role in the Australian side that lifted the 1999 Rugby World Cup, scoring against Romania in the opening game. His father was once the Heavy weight boxing champion of Tonga and must have passed some tips to him as he gave Irish hardman Trevor Brennan a good fight, cutting the Irish back-rower's face with some hard punching in the pool game but earning himself a one match ban in process which saw him miss the quarter final against Wales.
One of his finest moments came in John Eales' final game for the Wallabies when he scored the try which beat the All Blacks, gave the retiring Skipper a winning record against the New Zealanders and the perfect send off.
During the 2003 Tri Nations Series game against New Zealand, he cracked a shoulder blade that ruled him out of the 2003 Rugby World Cup. At the end of that season he went to play for Kubota Spears in Japan. He is hoping to return to the Super 14 to play for either Western Force or the Queensland Reds in order to regain his spot in the Australian side for the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France.