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| Full name | Francis Meli | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1979-04-27)27 April 1979 (age 46) Apia, Western Samoa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 188 cm (6 ft 2 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 100 kg (15 st 10 lb)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Wing, Centre | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Francis Meli (born 27 April 1979) is a former professionalrugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. ASamoa andNew Zealand international representative centre or winger, he played in theNational Rugby League for New Zealand club,Auckland Warriors before playing in theSuper League for English clubs,St Helens andSalford.[2]
Born in Apia, Samoa on 27 April 1979, Meli grew up in the Auckland suburb ofTitirangi,[4] Meli began his rugby league career at the age of 9 when he joined the Avondale Wolves.[5] He eventually joined City Marist and played for theMarist Saints in theAuckland Rugby League.
Meli was then signed by theAuckland Warriors, and made hisNRL début against theSouth Sydney Rabbitohs on 2 May 1999. Due to a feeder arrangement with the Warriors, Meli also played several games forBrisbane Souths in theQueensland Cup.[6]
He played for the Warriors on the wing in their2002 NRL Grand Final loss to theSydney Roosters. In the post-season Meli was selected to go on the2002 New Zealand rugby league tour of Great Britain and France. He was played on the wing in fivetest matches and scored 4tries.
Meli scored a club record 23 tries for the Warriors in the2003 NRL season. He scored 5 of those tries in a single finals game against theCanterbury Bulldogs, a feat still unbeaten in the finals. He played his 50th match for the club on 6 April 2003 and his 100th match against the Wests Tigers on 9 April 2005.[7][8] He was named the2003 New Zealand Warriors’ Player of the Year.
At the start of 2006 Meli joinedSt. Helens. He played for St Helens on the wing in their2006 Challenge Cup Final victory against theHuddersfield Giants.
St Helens reached the2006 Super League Grand final to be contested againstHull FC, and Meli played on the wing, scoring atry in Saints' 26-4 victory.
As 2006 Super League champions, St Helens faced 2006 NRL Premiers theBrisbane Broncos in the2007 World Club Challenge. Meli played on the wing in the Saints' 18-14 victory.
In his first three years at the club he acquired three Challenge Cup winning medals, a World Club Challenge winning medal and a Grand Final winning ring. He also played in 2008'sSuper League XIII Grand Final defeat by theLeeds Rhinos.[9]
Visa issues due to the United Kingdoms new requirements curtailed the start of his 2009 campaign, however these issues were suffered by many imports that season.[10] He arrived back in the country five rounds late and was forced to start his season in the reserves.[11]
He played in the2009 Super League Grand Final defeat by theLeeds Rhinos atOld Trafford.[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]
At the start of 2010 Meli was granted compassionate leave to briefly return to New Zealand.[24][25]
He played in the2011 Super League Grand Final defeat by theLeeds Rhinos atOld Trafford.[26][27]
Meli played for Super League sideSalford Red Devils for the 2014 season after signing a one-year contract at the club. Meli retired at the conclusion of the 2014 season after failing to be offered a new contract.[28]
Meli played forSamoa in the2000 World Cup.[29]
In 2001 he then switched allegiance toNew Zealand, playing in 14 test matches between 2001 and 2004.
Meli was selected to play on the wing for New Zealand in the2004 Anzac Test against Australia inNewcastle, New South Wales, the Kiwis losing to the Kangaroos 10-37. At the end of the season he was also selected to play for New Zealand on the wing in all four of their matches at the2004 Rugby League Tri-Nations.
In 2008 Meli played forSamoa in theWorld Cup.[30][31]
Meli was named in the Samoan squad for the2009 Pacific Cup.[32]
Meli was selected to play for theExiles by coachBrian McLennan. He started the game on the wing againstEngland, and scored a try in the 16-12 Exiles win. Francis was selected again to represent theExiles by new coachDaniel Anderson, Meli started Game 1 on the wing and scored a try in the 18-10 loss toEngland. Meli also featured on the wing for Game 2 and was instrumental in helping the Exiles to a 32-20 win by scoring 2 tries and helping the Exiles retain theInternational Origin trophy.
In 2022, Meli was drafted in as a replacement forShontayne Hape as a on-field player forMatch Fit. He is also the mental health coach for the group as he is child case manager withNew Zealand Police since retiring from the game. He has a wife and 3 girls, as of 2022, the oldest was 16 and the youngest 2.[33]
