Ben Tameifuna is the heaviest top-level player in the world – and he’s left over one million viewers in awe of his extraordinary strength and power after footage of him playing surfaced online
Ben Tameifuna of Tonga(Image: World Rugby)
Tonga captain Ben Tameifuna is the heaviest rugby player in the world in 2025. The formidable prop led his team in the Pacific Nations Cup earlier this year, and clips of him in action have gone viral online.
Test rugby boasts an array of towering figures like Eben Etzebeth or RG Snyman, who tip the scales at over 19 stone. Yet, there are those like Uini Atonio and Posolo Tuilagi, pushing 23 stone, who occupy a league of their own.
However, Tameifuna claims the crown as the heaviest among them all.
Weighing nearly 24 stone, the Tongan front rower’s ability to navigate the field at such an astonishing weight is truly impressive.
A video of him from a match against Samoa, which Tonga won 30-16, has been viewed by over a million people in the online rugby community.
In the footage, Tameifuna, who once trained with the All Blacks, can be seen steamrolling opponents before hoisting a teammate onto his shoulders and carrying him over the line to score a try with remarkable strength.
The video can be viewed below.
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The clip has garnered over 1m views on Instagram and hundreds of thousands more on TikTok.
Born in Auckland, New Zealand, Tameifuna initially played for Hawke’s Bay and Chiefs before being invited to train with the All Blacks in the summer of 2012, although he never made it onto the pitch.
The prop player left his homeland a decade ago to carve out a career in European rugby.
Subsequently, he signed up with Racing 92 in France’s Top 14, effectively ruling himself out of selection for New Zealand.
Having spent the past decade in France, Tameifuna moved from Racing 92 to Bordeaux-Begles in 2020, where he currently plays. In 2017, he switched his international allegiance to Tonga.
During his stint with Racing, Tameifuna was compelled to shed weight after tipping the scales at an astonishing 25 stone (160KG).
French sports newspaper Midi Olympique reported that Racing instructed him to lose weight in 2019, stating that he wouldn’t be considered for team selection until he slimmed down.
This wasn’t a first-time occurrence, as Tameifuna had previously returned to training in 2018 weighing over 26 stone (166KG).
While Tuilagi, Skelton and Emmanuel Meafou come close to Tameifuna’s weight, the Tongan captain holds the title for the heaviest Test player.
Ben Tameifuna of Tonga(Image: World Rugby)