Romain Taofifenua

Romain Taofifenua is a French international forward born on 14 September 1990. A towering second-row of Wallisian heritage, he has long been valued for the physical presence he brings to the engine room, combining genuine size and power with the engine to get through a heavy workload in the tight exchanges. Across a lengthy professional career in the French Top 14 he has built a reputation as a reliable lineout option and an abrasive operator at the maul and the breakdown, the kind of forward a pack is built around rather than one who merely fills a role. Capped by France, he has carried that same uncompromising approach into the Test arena, offering set-piece security and ballast in the engine room. Now in the later stages of his career, his experience and durability remain his calling cards, and he continues to contribute the steel and know-how that come only from years spent at the sharp end of the professional game.