Willie Manu

Not to be confused with Viliami Sikalamu Manu (Sika Manu).

Viliami Makamaile "Willie" Manu (born 20 March 1980) is a former Tonga international rugby league footballer. He played as a second-row forward, he previously played in the National Rugby League for Australian clubs the Wests Tigers, South Sydney Rabbitohs, St. George Illawarra Dragons and the Sydney Roosters. Manu moved to England and played in the Super League for the Castleford Tigers, Hull F.C. before joining St Helens, with whom he won the 2014 Super League championship.

Willie Manu

Personal information
Full name	Viliami Makamaile Manu
Born	(1980-03-20) 20 March 1980 (age 44) Hornsby, New South Wales, Australia
Playing information
Height	179 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	109 kg (17 st 2 lb)
Position	Second-row, Lock
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2001–03 Wests Tigers 50 5 0 0 20 2004 South Sydney 19 0 0 0 0 2005 St. George Illawarra 14 1 0 0 4 2006 Castleford Tigers 24 9 0 0 36 2007–12 Hull FC 165 36 0 0 144 2013–14 St Helens 47 9 0 0 36 2015 Sydney Roosters 4 0 0 0 0 Total 323 60 0 0 240 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 2000–13 Tonga 11 2 0 0 8 2011–13 Exiles 3 1 0 0 4
Source: [1][2][3]

Background

Manu was born in Hornsby, New South Wales, Australia.

Playing career

In August 2008, Willie Manu was named in the Tonga training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup,^[4] and in October 2008 he was named in the final 24-man Tonga squad.^[5] He played for Tonga in 2009 in a Test match against the New Zealand national rugby league team.^[6]

St. Helens reached the 2014 Super League Grand Final and Manu was selected to play from the interchange bench in their 14–6 victory over the Wigan Warriors at Old Trafford.^{[7][8][9][10]}

Controversy

In July 2005, Manu was granted continuing bail in Wollongong Local Court on charges related to an altercation at a Wollongong nightclub. Manu was charged with maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm and affray. A nightclub employee suffered head injuries in the incident, while another man received a serious cut to his head.^[11]

References

1. loverugbyleague
2. Rugby League Project
3. Zero Tackle profile
4. "Tug-of-war over Mason". Sky Sports. 5 August 2008. Retrieved 6 August 2008.
5. "Samoa, Tonga and Fiji name squads". BBC. 8 October 2008. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
6. Mateo to headline Tonga's act in Test nrl.com, 8 October 2009
7. "St Helens 14 Wigan Warriors 6: Moment of madness from Wales international Ben Flower costs Wigan dear". The Daily Telegraph. London. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
8. "St Helens win Grand Final after Wigan's Ben Flower is sent off". The Guardian. London. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
9. "St Helens 14–6 Wigan Warriors". BBC Sport. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
10. Cartwright, Phil (11 October 2014). "St Helens v Wigan as it happened". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
11. "Manu bailed on nightclub brawl charges". Australia: ABC News. 5 July 2005.

External links

• Saints Heritage Society profile