Born: November 19, 1995 in Samoa
Position: Halfback
Club: Crusaders
Height: 1.71
Weight: 73kg
Caps: 9
Livewire scrumhalf Melani Matavao played a key role in Samoa securing their place at Japan 2019, scoring four tries across the two legs of their decisive playoff against Germany last year.
He's since sharpened his game on the sevens circuit and after recovering from injury to earn a place in the World Cup squad, he's set to be an attacking threat from No.9 for Samoa.
A former Samoan U20s representative, Matavao is a speedy halfback with plenty of potential.
Matavao represented the Samoan U20s at the 2015 U20 World Championship before returning to Samoa to continue his development.
In November 2017 he was called into the Manu Samoa squad for the November Tests and was named on the bench to face Scotland.
Newshub.
