Opeta Palepoi signs for Harlequins
By Prof
August 31 2004
The long term injury to Jim Evans meant that Quins needed to sign a replacement before the start of the season. The club had looked at Palepoi earlier but he was not signed because he was too similar a player to the locks we already have.
| Name: | Opeta Palepoi |  |
| Position: | Lock/Blindside | |
| Height: | 6'6" (1.98m) | |
| Weight: | 16st 11lb (107kg) | |
| Nationality: | Samoan | |
| Born: | Apia | |
| Date of Birth: | 2 December 1975 | |
| Caps: | 38 | |
| Most recent test: | 4 June 2004 (Scotland) | |
| Test tries: | 3 | |
| Signed for: | 1 year, 2004/5 | |
| Previous clubs: | Orrell, Exeter, Currei, Glasgow, Wellington, Hurricanes, Northern United | |
Opeta Palepoi had previously played alongside fellow Samoan and new signing Steve So'oialo both for Samoa and for Orrell. He has played thirty-eight times for Manu Samoa including the last two World Cups. He was part of the team that performed so well against England.
He also played alongside Ace Tiatia when they were both at Wellington, he was in the Wellington Development squad between 1997 and 2000.
He is Samoa's main source of possession at the line out and he has scored a lot of tries for Orrell, he can also play at blindside if necessary. He aggrevated a leg injury against Scotland in June this year meaning he missed the test against Fiji and also that he missed out on the Pacific Islanders tour.
He is an EU qualified player because he has an English wife, Lynn. He joins a number of Islanders who are already at Quins: Ace Tiatai, Tani Fuga, George Harder, Steve So'oialo all from Samoa and Maama Molitika from Tonga, as Mark Evans said when the signing was announced "when in doubt sign a Samoan".