Leicester Ofa Ki Wales Twickenham Faingaûanuku (born 11 October 1999) is a rugby union player, who plays as a wing or centre for in the Bunnings NPC, the in Super Rugby and the All Blacks. He previously played for Toulon in the Top 14. Born in Tonga, he represents New Zealand internationally.
Faingaûanuku was born in Nuku'alofa, Tonga. His father, Taûu Faingaûanuku, and his younger brother, Tima Faingaûanuku, have both played for the Tonga national team.
His father Taûu Faingaûanuku played prop for Tonga in the 1999 Rugby World Cup. One of the games during the World Cup, in which Tonga beat Italy, was played at Welford Road Stadium, Leicester, England. Ta'u named his son after the city in honour of the game. Wales was used as one of his middle names as the hosts and Twickenham was named after Twickenham Stadium where Tonga were due to play their next match.
He was educated at Nelson College, where he was captain of the school's first XV.
Faingaûanuku was named in the Tasman Mako squad for the first time for the 2018 Mitre 10 Cup season and made his debut in Round 8 when played at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin, coming off the bench in a 21âÂÂ47 win for the Mako. He was part of the Tasman team that won the Mitre 10 Cup for the first time in 2019. He was again part of the Mako side that won the 2020 Mitre 10 Cup. Faingaûanuku had an outstanding 2021 Bunnings NPC season as Tasman made the final before losing 23âÂÂ20 to .
Faingaûanuku was named in the squad for the 2019 Super Rugby season, after signing a three year contract with the franchise. He made his debut for the franchise, off the bench, against the in Round 11, but that was the only game he played in the 2019 season as the Crusaders went on to win their third Super Rugby title in a row.
During the following seasons, Faingaûanuku cemented himself in the squad, from 2022 as a regular starter. He starred during that season, which he finished as the joined top try scorer with Crusaders team mates Sevu Reece and Will Jordan at 10 tries each. The Crusaders won their sixth title in a row with a 7âÂÂ21 win over the in the final.
The 2023 season was Faingaûanuku's last season with the Crusaders. On 8 June 2023, the Crusaders announced that he had signed an 18-month contract with French Top 14 club Toulon. Less than three weeks later, the Crusaders won their seventh consecutive Super Rugby title, beating the 20âÂÂ25 in the final. Faingaûanuku finished the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season as the competition's top try scorer with 13 tries.
Faingaûanuku was named on the South Island team's bench for the North vs South match that was played on 5 September 2020 at Sky Stadium in Wellington. The South Island won the game 38âÂÂ35.
On 5 December 2020, Faingaûanuku played for Moana Pasifika in a one-off match against the MÃÂori All Blacks in Hamilton. He started in the number 14 jersey in a historic game that the Moana Pasifika side lost 21âÂÂ28.
Faingaûanuku was selected in the All Blacks squad for the 2022 Steinlager Series against Ireland. He was named to debut as a starting winger in the first test of the series on 2 July 2022 at . New Zealand won the match 42âÂÂ19, with Faingaûanuku becoming All Black number 1200.
On 7 August 2023, Faingaûanuku was named in the All Blacks squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup. He made his World Cup debutvia the benchon 8 September 2023 in the round 1 loss against France. He scored his first ever try for the All Blacks in the second pool match against Namibia on 15 September 2023. On 5 October 2023, Faingaûanuku scored a hat-trick in the final pool match against Uruguay.