Evergreen Elvis has lots of hits left in him

TONGAN Test hooker Elvis Taione puts his remarkable longevity down to Pacific Island genes, sleep and a lifechanging decision to swap work on a building site for rugby.

- NEALE HARVEY

With a new contract at Exeter Chiefs secured, Taione turns 37 this month but shows no sign of battle fatigue as he maintains the pressure on England No.2 Luke Cowan-Dickie.

Ten years ago, Taione was labouring in Sydney while playing for the Manly Marlins before a final go at breaking into the professional game preceded a move abroad.

The Premiership’s second-oldest player behind London Irish’s Franco van der Merwe, is now in his sixth season at Chiefs. He told The Rugby Paper: “I did a bit of rugby at school in New Zealand but had some bad injuries and lost my passion for the game.

“I thought that was that, but after moving to Australia in my early 20s some mates persuaded me to join the Manly Marlins to play club rugby and have fun.