Atu Moli

Atunaisa Moli (born 12 June 1995) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a Prop for Waikato in New Zealand's domestic Mitre 10 Cup, the Chiefs in the international Super Rugby competition,[1][2][3][4][5] and for the All Blacks national team.[6]

Atu Moli
Full nameAtunaisa Moli
Date of birth (1995-06-12) 12 June 1995
Place of birthGisborne, New Zealand
Height189 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight127 kg (280 lb; 20 st 0 lb)
SchoolMarlborough Boys' College
UniversityUniversity of Waikato
Rugby union career
Position(s) Prop
Current team Chiefs, Tasman
All Black No. 1168
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2015–2018 Waikato 17 (5)
2016– Chiefs 41 (15)
2019– Tasman 1 (0)
Correct as of 12 July 2020
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014–2015 New Zealand U20 12 (0)
2017 Barbarian F.C. 1 (0)
2017– New Zealand 5 (0)
Correct as of 12 July 2020

Starting his career as a Tighthead Prop, Moli converted to Loosehead Prop during his professional career. Moli made his debut for New Zealand in 2017, earned a re-call in 2019 after a spell of injury and subsequently made their team for the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

Early career

Moli was born in the northern New Zealand town of Gisborne, but did his secondary education on New Zealand's South Island, attending Marlborough Boys' College in Blenheim. He is of Tongan descent. [7]While attending secondary school, he represented Marlborough at under-16 and Tasman at under-18 level before moving to Waikato after graduation and representing them at under-19 level.[5]

Senior career

Moli debuted for Waikato during the 2015 ITM Cup in a match against Tasman on 14 August 2015 after starring as a school boy. Hindered by a foot injury, he only played 6 games during his first season of provincial level rugby, 2 of which were from the start. 2016 again saw him make 6 appearances, this time however, they were all from the start as he began to make the number 1 jersey his own.[2][8] In 2019 Moli made his debut for Tasman against his old team Waikato at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton

Super Rugby

After just 6 games at provincial level, Moli made the Chiefs Super Rugby squad for the 2016 Super Rugby season,[3] debuting in a match against the Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth. A season-ending injury to Nepo Laulala meant that he received more game time during his debut season than he might have otherwise expected, playing 10 times and scoring 1 try.[2] He was retained in the squad for 2017.[4]

Moli missed the whole 2018 Super Rugby season due to a leg injury. He forced his way back into the first-choice team during the 2019 Super Rugby season, establishing himself as one of the Chiefs' best performers during the season.

International

Moli represented New Zealand Schools in 2013 and was a member of the New Zealand Under 20 teams which competed in the 2014 and 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championships. He appeared 5 times as New Zealand finished 3rd in 2014 and made another 5 appearances, this time as captain as the Kiwis lifted the title in 2015 with a 21-16 victory over England in the final.[9][10][11][12]

Moli was selected to be a non-playing "Apprentice" in the All Blacks for the 2017 Rugby Championship. Moli is the third New Zealander to be selected for the All Blacks as an apprentice, following team mates Ardie Savea who was an apprentice in 2013 and Jordie Barrett who held that title in 2016. After injuries to Joe Moody and Owen Franks, the All Blacks coaches had to seek more depth in the end-of-year tour. This meant that after starting in a 31-22 loss against the All Blacks for the Barbarians coached by Robbie Deans on 4 November, Moli joined the All Blacks squad again, making his debut for New Zealand against a French XV 10 days later, replacing Tim Perry with 23 minutes left. Moli was one of six players to make their All Blacks debut in the 28-23 win.

In 2019, Moli was re-selected to the All Blacks team, named to play Argentina in the Investec Rugby Championship Test at Jose Amalfitani Stadium (Estadio Velez Sarsfield) in Buenos Aires on Saturday 20 July. He made his test debut in the 60th minute of the game, replacing Ofa Tu'ungafasi.[13] With experienced props, Karl Tu'inukuafe and Owen Franks, axed from the team, Moli also earned an appearance off the bench against Australia during a 26-47 loss.

On 28 August 2019, Moli was picked for the All Blacks 2019 Rugby World Cup squad, by New Zealand Head Coach, Steve Hansen. Moli earned his first start for the All Blacks in New Zealand's 63-0 win over Canada, lasting the whole 80 minutes of the test.[6] Moli played one more test during the competition, coming off the bench against Wales in the Bronze Final, with New Zealand winning by 40-17 to claim third place.

Career honours

New Zealand Under-20

References
  1. "Atu Moli Waikato Player Profile". Mooloo Rugby. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  2. "Atu Moli itsrugby.co.uk Player Statistics". itsrugby.co.uk. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  3. "Chiefs sign New Zealand Under-20s captain Atu Moli on two-year deal". Stuff.co.nz. 25 August 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  4. "Chiefs 2017 Squad Guide" (PDF). All Blacks.com. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  5. "Atu Moli Chiefs Player Profile". Chiefs Rugby. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  6. "Atu Moli #1168". All Blacks. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  7. "Moli on his way to the top". Stuff.co.nz. 16 December 2013.
  8. "Chiefs prop Atu Moli riding the wave in his first season of Super Rugby". Rugby Heaven. 16 July 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  9. "NZU20 squad named for IRB JWC2014". All Blacks.com. 23 April 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  10. "NZ Under 20 squad named for World Champs in Italy". All Blacks.com. 12 May 2015. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  11. "2013 NZ Schools team named". All Blacks.com. 16 September 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  12. "Atu Moli New Zealand Under 20 Player Profile". All Blacks.com. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  13. "All Blacks deny Argentina famous victory in Buenos Aires to win Rugby Championship opener". TVNZ. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
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