Losi Filipo

{{Short description|New Zealand-Samoan rugby union player (born 1997)}}

{{Infobox rugby biography

| name = Losi Filipo

| image =

| caption =

| full_name = Losilosivale Filipo

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1997|12|29|df=yes}}

| birth_place =

| death_date =

| death_place =

| height =

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| occupation =

| school = St Patrick's College

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| relatives =

| position = Outside back

| provinceyears1 = 2017–

| province1 = {{rut|Wellington}}

| provinceapps1 = 22

| provincepoints1 = 50

| repyears1 = 2021–

| repteam1 = {{nrut|Samoa}}

| repcaps1 = 1

| reppoints1 = 0

}}

Losilosivale Filipo (born 29 December 1997) is a New Zealand rugby union player of Samoan descent.

Early life and education

Filipo hails from Porirua and was a boarder at St Patrick's College, Silverstream. He represented New Zealand under-16s in rugby league and was a New Zealand Schools rugby union player.{{cite news |title=In A League Of His Own |work=The Dominion Post |date=17 October 2012}}

When he was 17, Filipo got charged with assaulting four people, two of them female, during a fight in central Wellington. He was discharged without conviction by a district court judge who took into account Filipo's future rugby prospects had he been convicted, a decision that prompted public outcry. Police appealed the ruling to the High Court and Filipo was subsequently sentenced to nine months supervision.{{cite news |title=Rugby player Losi Filipo quits squad |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/rugby-player-losi-filipo-quits-squad/WOPWRW3QE4H4IT45KRNMQ2T5ME/ |work=NZ Herald |date=28 September 2016 |language=en-NZ}}{{cite news |title=Filipo re-sentenced to supervision |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/317089/filipo-re-sentenced-to-supervision |work=Radio New Zealand |date=2 November 2016 |language=en-nz}}

Sporting career

Filipo, an outside back, made his Wellington provincial debut in 2017. He is a former Samoa under-20s captain and in 2019 was named in a New Zealand Sevens development squad.{{cite news |title=Losi Filipo selected for NZ Sevens development squad, three years after assault conviction |url=https://www.1news.co.nz/2019/02/13/losi-filipo-selected-for-nz-sevens-development-squad-three-years-after-assault-conviction/ |work=1News |date=14 February 2019 |language=en}} In 2021, Filipo debuted for Samoa in a win over Tonga at Waikato Stadium, which secured the country's qualification for the 2023 World Cup.{{cite news |title=SRU Says Losi Filipo Has Learnt His Lesson |url=https://samoaglobalnews.com/sru-says-losi-filipo-has-learnt-his-lesson/ |work=Samoa Global News |date=30 October 2019}}