Robert Valetini (born 3 September 1998) is an Australian rugby union player who plays as a back row forward[1] for the Brumbies in Super Rugby.[2] He has also been capped for Australia.[3]
The son of Fijian parents – father Manueli Valetini and mother Finau Valetini – the Melbourne-born Robert Valetini attended Westall Secondary College. Valetini also has a cousin Matthew McManus who played for Waikato. [4][5] He played representative rugby for Victorian state teams at under-16, under-18 and under-20 levels.[1] A broken leg in his last year at school meant he missed a chance at selection for the 2016 Australian Schoolboys team,[6] but he was called up to play for the Melbourne Rising in the National Rugby Championship (NRC) later that season.[6]
While still at school, Valetini signed an Extended Playing Squad contract with the Brumbies for the 2017 season.[6] His parents told him the move to Canberra would give him valuable life experience and he was just the second Australian rugby forward to sign a Super Rugby contract while still a schoolboy.[7]
Valetini did not play much rugby in the early part of his first year due to hand and ankle injuries, but he joined the Australia Under-20 team to play in the 2017 World Championship in Georgia.[3] In 2017, Valetini signed a two-year full-time Super Rugby contract with the Brumbies until 2019,[8] before playing NRC for the Canberra Vikings in 2017.[3]
Valetini made his international debut for Australia at Bankwest Stadium in Sydney against Samoa in September 2019.[9]
Valetini was heavily involved with the Wallabies in 2020 and 2021, appearing against New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina.
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