UBB announced this Thursday the extension of the contract of its right pillar Sipili Falatea until June 2028.
Sipili Falatea remains loyal to the UBB. Arriving at Bordeaux-Bègles in 2022, the 28-year-old right pillar extended his contract with the Gironde club this Thursday until June 2028. The native of Wallis and Futuna was reaching the end of his contract next June, and after long weeks of negotiations, he reached an agreement with the European champion club to stay for two more seasons, even if he was courted by other Top 14 teams.
Trained in Colomiers when he arrived in mainland France at the age of 18, Falatea then joined Clermont, where he began his professional career eight years ago. After 54 matches and 3 tries with ASM, the pillar joined UBB a little over three years ago.
46 matches and a European Cup with UBB
In Gironde, Sipili Falatea is not necessarily an indisputable starter (22 starts in 46 matches), since he faces competition from Ben Tameifuna and Carlü Sadie, but he is a member of the team. In total, he scored four tries in the UBB jersey and won a title, the 2025 Champions Cup (he also started in the final). The man who is also the uncle of his teammate Yoram Moefana was also three times vice-champion of France (twice with Bordeaux-Bègles, once with Clermont).
14 selections for Falatea
Sipili Falatea has 14 caps for the French team to date, and scored a try in the victory against South Africa in November 2022 in Marseille. But the right pillar has not played in blue for two years, and the group match against Uruguay at the World Cup in Lille, where he replaced Dorian Aldegheri in the 50th. Injured in one foot in October, he was not called up for the November Tour, but Fabien Galthié still gave his name this Thursday at a press conference, mentioning the problem of the right pillars in the French XV, where no one seems to impose themselves behind the veteran Uini Atonio, currently injured.
