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Son of famous father wanted by Welsh regions
By Jon Newcombe
Dafydd-Rhys Tiueti’s form for Championship leaders Coventry this season has attracted the interest of two Welsh regions.
The powerhouse centre was born in Neath while his father Dave Tiueti, the former Tonga international, played for the Welsh All Blacks.
Tiueti moved to England with his family when he was five but the desire to play for Wales has never left him.
Scarlets and Ospreys are thought to be keeping tabs on the 23-year-old who moved from Nottingham to Coventry, another of his father’s former clubs, last summer.
The former Cardiff Met student has started four Championship games this season, at 12 and 13, and was named the club’s player of the month for October.
He was also picked in the Championship Team of the Week for his performance at outside centre in the 17-15 win at Caldy before being an ever-present in the Coventry midfield recent block of Premiership Cup matches.
Tiueti joined Nottingham directly from Cardiff Met University and, 12 months later, is quickly seeing the benefits of being a fully professional rugby player for the first time, which could now lead to him stepping up into the United Rugby Championship.
“Going from part-time rugby into being full-time has been a massive change which has already been really positive for my development,” he told the club's website.
“It really helps you build bonds with other players and also the coaches have the time to really help you with specific aspects of your game.
“I also feel a lot fitter as I’m now training a lot more than I did as a part-timer. Work rate is a massive part of what we’re about as a squad and the fitness really helps with that.
“I was a community coach in the day when I was playing at Nottingham and training in the evening after coaching all day could be quite hard whereas I get a lot more downtime here.”
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Latest Comments
That's the worry. A great 30 mins could be enough for them. They are more than capable of turning it on.
Go to commentsI suspect the opportunity to ply your trade against the best of the best for the ABs is a big part of the decision process. Perhaps bigger than nationality if you have multiple options. So I can see why young very talented players take this route. If you play for the islands then world cups are really your only big stage. It is chicken and egg, but ensuring the island nations can play top tier teams or be part of a competition like the rugby championship would be a massive step towards retaining talent so that they mprove.
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