Sione Fifita
| Date of birth | 17 April 1990 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Haʻapai, Tonga | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 105 kg (16 st 7 lb; 231 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sione Fifita (born 17 April 1990) is a Tongan rugby union player who currently plays as a wing for Counties Manukau in New Zealand's domestic Mitre 10 Cup.[1][2][3][4]
Early career
Somewhat of a late developer professionally, Tongan-born Fifita came to New Zealand in his teens and represented Counties Manukau at Under-20 level before having a sensational year playing for their B side in 2014 netting 14 tries in 6 games which unsurprisingly saw him named as their player of the year. While working his way through the Steelers development structures, he also turned out for Pukekohe in Counties Manukau club rugby.[1][3]
Senior career
Fifita first made the Counties Manukau senior squad at the age of 25 in 2015.[5] He scored 2 tries in 9 appearances in a solid debut season at provincial level which saw the Steelers finish in 5th position on the ITM Cup Premiership log, just outside of the play off places. He was again a regular in the Counties side in 2016, helping himself to 3 tries in 8 games as they reached the Mitre 10 Cup semi-finals before falling to eventual tournament winners, Canterbury.[2]
Super Rugby
Strong performances during his first year in provincial rugby with Counties Manukau saw him named in the Crusaders squad for the 2016 Super Rugby season.[6] Being an inexperienced member of a squad packed with All Blacks it was perhaps no surprise that Fifita didn't see any game time during his first year in Christchurch, however, he was retained in the squad for the 2017 season.[4]
Super Rugby Statistics
- As of 24 December 2016[2]
| Season | Team | Games | Starts | Sub | Mins | Tries | Cons | Pens | Drops | Points | Yel | Red |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Crusaders | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
References
- ^ a b "Sione Fifita Counties Manukau Steelers Player Profile". Steelers Rugby. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
- ^ a b c "Sione Fifita itsrugby.co.uk Player Statistics". itsrugby.co.uk. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
- ^ a b "Sione Fifita Crusaders Player Profile". Crusaders Rugby. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
- ^ a b "Crusaders 2017 Squad Guide" (PDF). All Blacks.com. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
- ^ "Counties Manukau wing Sione Fifita making up for lost time". Rugby Heaven. 26 August 2015. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
- ^ "Crusaders 2016 Squad Guide" (PDF). All Blacks Rugby. Retrieved 29 October 2015.