Place of birth Auckland, New Zealand Years Club / team Height 1.96 m | Position Lock Club / team Caps Weight 110 kg | |
 | ||
Full name Saveasiuleo Fredrik Lafaiali'i Date of birth (1974-01-30) 30 January 1974 (age 43) | ||
Leo Lafaiali'i (born 30 January 1974 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a Samoan rugby union footballer.
Career
Leo Lafaiali'i made his debut for Samoa in 2001 against Tonga, going on to play in Test matches against Fiji, New Zealand, and Tonga later on in the year. After a number of appearances in 2002, he went to the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia, playing against Uruguay, Georgia, England, and South Africa. Lafaiali'i toured with the Pacific Islands in 2004 and helped Samoa to qualify for the World Cup in France. He featured in the 2007 Pacific Nations Cup for Samoa and was selected in the Samoa squad to go to the 2007 Rugby World Cup, where he played in his second global tournament.
Earlier in his career he played for Auckland winning national titles in 1996 and 1999. He was selected for the Blues in 1997 and was part of the championship winning side for that season. Drafted to the Chiefs in 1999 he returned to the Blues in 2000 & 2001 before departing to Sanyo in Japan. He has also played for Overmach Parma in Italy, Bayonne in France and is currently playing for Yokogawa in Japan.
He is currently the head coach at Colby College in Waterville Maine, and largely considered to be the most overqualified coach in any sport in the world.