Sam Talakai (born 4 September 1991), is an Australian rugby union player of Tongan descent. His usual position is tighthead prop. He plays for Brisbane City in the National Rugby Championship, the Melbourne Rebels in Super Rugby and the Australian National Team, the Wallabies.
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth name | Semise Talakai | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 4 September 1991 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Sydney, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 122 kg (19 st 3 lb)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Waverley College[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative(s) | Chris Talakai (brother) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Family and early life
Talakai was born in Australia. He attended Waverley College where he played rugby for the 1st XV team. He has a younger brother named Kaiasi Talakai also playing for Waverley College.[2]
Career
Talakai joined the Sydney University club in 2010,[4] and by 2012 was a regular starter in their first grade Shute Shield team.[5] In 2012 he was selected in the Junior Waratahs side to play in the Pacific Rugby Cup,[6] and in 2013 he made his debut off the bench for the Waratahs against the British and Irish Lions.[4][7] In 2014 he was recruited by Brisbane City coach Nick Stiles to play in the National Rugby Championship.[2][8]
International
On 26 November 2022, Talakai was substituted onto the field in place of Allan Alaalatoa in the 71st minute of the Wallabies game against Wales, marking his debut in which the Wallabies won 39 to 34.
Super Rugby statistics
- As of 3 June 2023[9]
| Season | Team | Games | Starts | Sub | Mins | Tries | Cons | Pens | Drops | Points | Yel | Red |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Reds | 13 | 6 | 7 | 471 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | Reds | 13 | 1 | 12 | 237 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2017 | Reds | 14 | 12 | 2 | 692 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | Rebels | 16 | 7 | 9 | 605 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | Rebels | 15 | 8 | 7 | 629 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023 | Rebels | 14 | 12 | 2 | 750 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 85 | 46 | 39 | 3,384 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0 | |