Uwe Helu

Tauate Valu Uwe Helu (ヘル ウヴェ, Heru Uvu~e; born 12 July 1990) is a professional rugby union player who plays as a lock for Japan Rugby League One club Kubota Spears. Born in Tonga, he represents Japan at international level after qualifying on residency grounds.^[1][2][3]

Uwe Helu

Helu representing the Sunwolves during Super Rugby
Full name	Tauate Valu Uwe Helu
Date of birth	(1990-07-12) 12 July 1990 (age 35)
Place of birth	Nukuʻalofa, Tonga
Height	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Weight	115 kg (254 lb; 18 st 2 lb)
School	St. Thomas of Canterbury College
University	Takushoku University
Rugby union career
Position(s) Lock, Flanker Current team Urayasu D-Rocks Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2014–2021 Shizuoka Blue Revs 43 (65) 2017–2019 Sunwolves 22 (15) 2022–2024 Kubota Spears 20 (5) 2024- Urayasu D-Rocks 0 (0) Correct as of 28 August 2023 International career Years Team Apps (Points) 2016– Japan 19 (0) 2023 Japan XV 1 (0) Correct as of 28 August 2023

Club career

Helu was born in Tonga, attended St Thomas of Canterbury College, Christchurch, New Zealand, and then university in Tokyo, Japan. After graduating from university he signed up to play Top League rugby with Yamaha Júbilo in 2014. His appearances were sparse in his first two seasons with Yamaha, but in 2016 he began to be much more of a regular in the side.^[4]

International career

After only 13 Top League appearances for Yamaha Júbilo, which included 3 starts, Helu received his first call-up to his adopted country, Japan's senior squad ahead of the 2016 end-of-year rugby union internationals. He debuted as a second-half replacement in new head coach, Jamie Joseph's first game, a 54–20 loss at home to Argentina.^[1]