Salesi Finau is a Tongan former rugby footballer. He represented Tonga in both the rugby league

Rugby league

Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...

 and rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 sides.

Rugby league career

Salesi began his career with the Canberra Raiders

Canberra Raiders

The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership since 1982...

 Rugby League Club, and played in the Tongan rugby league team at the 1995 World Cup. After impressing during the tournament he signed for Warrington Wolves

Warrington Wolves

Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league football club based in Warrington, England that competes in Super League. They play at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2003....

 Rugby League Club in the British Super League

Super League

Super League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from...

,

Club

In late 1998 Finau signed for Welsh rugby union side Llanelli Scarlets

Llanelli Scarlets

The Scarlets are one of the four professional Welsh regional rugby union teams. Based in Llanelli, south-west Wales the team play at the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the RaboDirect Pro12, as well as competing in the LV= Cup and the Heineken Cup...

 under coach Gareth Jenkins. Finau made 203 appearances for the side over the next six year, becoming an instrumental team player, playing in 3 European Cup semi-finals and 2 Celtic League Titles, before ending his contract by mutual consent in September 2005. He then signed for Bath Rugby

Bath Rugby

Bath Rugby is an English professional rugby union club that is based in the city of Bath. They play in the Aviva Premiership league...

 under John Connolly

John Connolly

John Connolly may refer to:*John Connolly *John P. Connolly , actor*John Connolly , Irish author whose best-known novels revolve around former policeman Charlie Parker...

, spending a season at the West Country club before moving to French side Bourgoin

CS Bourgoin-Jallieu

CS Bourgoin-Jallieu is a French rugby union club currently competing in the second level of the French league system in the Pro D2. The club have been runners-up in the French championship and the Challenge Yves du Manoir competitions, and have won the Challenge Cup.Founded in 1906 as "Club...

. Finau had a successful season at Bourgoin, and on completion announced that he had signed a 2 year contract for Cornish Pirates

Cornish Pirates

The Cornish Pirates are an English professional rugby union team who play in the Championship, the second level of the English rugby union pyramid, and are the premier Cornish rugby club. Formerly known as Penzance & Newlyn Pirates, the Cornish Pirates play their home games and train at their...

. However, in June 2007, the club announced that they had agreed to release Finau from the deal when a family illness obliged him to return to his native Tonga.

Country

Finau received at least 13 caps for the Tongan national rugby union side, and played in the Tongan rugby sevens

Rugby sevens

Rugby sevens, also known as seven-a-side or VIIs, is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players, instead of the usual 15, with shorter matches. Rugby sevens is administered by the International Rugby Board , the body responsible for rugby union worldwide...

 side at the 2002 Commonwealth Games

2002 Commonwealth Games

The 2002 Commonwealth Games were held in Manchester, England from 25 July to 4 August 2002. The XVII Commonwealth Games was the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in the UK, eclipsing London's 1948 Summer Olympics in numbers of teams and athletes participating.After the 1996 Manchester...

.