Téani, Youth Unstoppable, France

Téani was brought up on the island of Futuna in the Pacific Ocean, where her parents had moved with their young family when she was only three weeks old.

Both of Téani’s parents are physical education teachers and she was introduced to rugby by her father, who played for a local team on the island.

It was while she was at primary school that she decided to give the game a go herself, and became “immediately hooked”.

When she was 14, Téani followed in the footsteps of her brother Niue and sister Manaé and moved to New Zealand to attend a boarding school in Napier.

Two years later, during a vacation to France, she played in the national U18 sevens championship and impressed so much that she earned an invitation to play at a tournament for the 100 best French players in that category the following year.

It was during that latter tournament that she caught the attention of FC Grenoble Amazones, where she currently plays alongside her sister Manaé.

Now 18, Téani has since been called up by the France women’s sevens squad and represented her country at a tournament in Dubai in April.

Full story coming soon...