Toutai Kefu

Rodger Siaosi Toutai Kefu (born 8 April 1974) is a Tongan-Australian professional rugby union coach and former player who has been coaching the Tonga national team since 2016.

Kefu acquired 60 test caps while primarily playing the position of number eight for Australia.

He was selected for the Queensland Reds for the inaugural season of the Super 12 in 1996, aged 21.

He made his international test debut for Australia at the age of 23, coming off the bench against South Africa on 23 August during the 1997 Tri Nations Series.

Kefu made his first start on his second cap almost a year later.

He took over the position of number 8 from fellow Tongan Willie Ofahengaue in 1998 in Australia's record 76–0 win over England.

After helping Australia qualify for the 1999 Rugby World Cup in September 1998, he played a vital role in winning the Webb Ellis Cup for Australia's second time.

He played in 4 of their matches, scoring against Romania in the opening game,

and playing the full 80 minutes in the final.

During the World Cup, Tonga earned two victories, beating Japan 31–18 and beating France 19–14 for the first time since 1999.

However, the two wins were not enough to progress Tonga further in the tournament.

Kefu helped Australia to their first ever Tri-nations title in 2000, which saw the Wallabies win their third consecutive Bledisloe Cup title, the first ever time they had done this.

In 2001, he helped Australia to their first series win over the British and Irish Lions in over 70 years, playing in all three tests.

Later that year he scored the try which beat the All Blacks to retain the Bledisloe Cup, giving his Skipper, John Eales, a perfect send off, as this was his last game for the Wallabies.

After failing to make the 2003 Rugby World Cup squad, Kefu signed with Kubota Spears in the Top League in Japan, leaving the Queensland Reds after earning 103 caps for his state.

In 2006, Kefu represented the Barbarians, playing against England at Twickenham Stadium, with England winning 46–19.

In addition to this, they beat Samoa 29–19, which was their first victory over Manu Samoa since 2007.

Their only loss came to Japan going down narrowly 28–27.

It saw Tonga earn their first victory over Fiji since 2008, winning 45–21, their largest winning margin over the Flying Fijians.

In the six season Kefu was with the Japanese club, Kubota Spears failed to move from the midsection of the table, only getting as high as fifth in the 2009–10 Top League season.

Following the 2009–10 season, Kefu retired from playing rugby.

In 2010 Kefu became head coach of the Sunshine Coast Stingrays, a team in the Queensland Premier League.

In his first season in charge, he led the Stingrays to the Senior Championship title, defeating Gold Coast 37–12 in the final.

Kefu continued on to coach the Stingrays, but temporarily left the side in 2011 to take up the role of assistant coach for the Tongan national team in preparation for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

He helped Tonga to second in the 2011 IRB Pacific Nations Cup, their best positioning since the tournament was formed in 2006.

In 2012, he served as the caretaker coach for Tonga and acted as Iona College's assistant.

When there was a gap in the international window, Kefu also served as the head coach of Queensland Country in the National Rugby Championship.

Big, quick and powerfully built, he was a stand out school boy performer representing at the underage level from Coorparoo State High School.

In 2012, following Isitolo Maka resignation as Tongan head coach, Kefu acted as interim head coach for the 2012 IRB Pacific Nations Cup.

He guided Tonga to a sole victory, beating Japan in Tokyo 24–20.

In September 2012, Mana Otai was named the full coach.

Following his leave from the Tongan national team, Kefu became the head coach of his former club Kubota Spears in Japan.

They had dropped to the Eastern A League.

He had recruited high-profile players including Kurt Morath and Hoani Matenga, and brought in young Japanese players.

Kefu led the team to promotion for the 2013–14 Top League season, and in his second year in charge, he led his side to top of Group 2, though failed to make it past the Wildcard play-offs, after losing to NEC Green Rockets 47–10.

Unfortunately, in the 2014–15 Top League season, Kubota Spears finished fifth in their group which meant they played in the Promotion and relegation play-offs.

They played Kamaishi Seawaves on 14 February 2015, where they secured a 34–5 victory to remain in the Top League for the 2015–16 Top League season.

Following another poor season in 2015/16, Kefu left the club at the end of the season.

In August 2016, just three months after being appointed head coach of Tonga, Kefu was named the head coach of Queensland Country for the 2016 National Rugby Championship in Australia.

Kefu was only able to lead his side to a single victory during their campaign, coming against finalist and table leaders New South Wales Country Eagles 40–38.