Tame-i-phenomenon!

Ben Tameifuna. What a monster! He plays for the Chiefs and Waikato. He’s been around for about 3 years, having his debut in 2012. We can’t really claim that he is up-and-coming any longer. But, he’s one of the inspirations for this site. He is impressive.

He is strong in attack and destructive in defense. He has scored 35 points for the Chiefs. That works out to 7 tries, (I don’t think he’s been doing any kicking), a pretty impressive strike rate for a prop. Dave Rennie, the Chiefs’ coach, calls him, “explosive and destructive with an excellent skill set.”

Here’s an example of Tameifuna’s powerful fend. He rejects Solomona Sakalia of Bay of Plenty.

Here’s a link to the RugbyDump.com video of the fend.

Ben has been on the All Blacks’ short list since 2012. He hasn’t had a game yet and seems to be in disfavor. In October, he had committed to play for Tonga on their Autumn tour. PlanetRugby.com reports that, as of 31-Oct-2014, he has pulled out of that tour and is still holding out for the All Blacks. “I want to play the World Cup next year,” Ben said, “Whether it’s the black jersey or red jersey.” An understandable sentiment from a young up-and-coming player.

Maybe his current status is due to slight tendency for indiscipline. Ben is just back from suspension for pushing referee Glen Jackson in a game against North Harbor. Here’s the video from RugbyDump.com. That earned him 5 weeks suspension. He is just back playing again.

We hope to see the RoundMound in the World Cup next year, running, fending and tackling, not to mention scrummaging.

Good Luck, Ben!

Here’s a YouTube piece by RugbyRecon highlighting some of Ben’s skills.