David Havili
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David Kaetau Havili (born 23 December 1994) is a New Zealand
rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
player who plays as a
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for in the
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, the in
Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...
and the New Zealand national team the All Blacks.


Early life

Havili is of Pākeha and Tongan descent and is the son of former Nelson Bays rugby representative Bill Havili. David Havili was born in
Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
in the
South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...
of New Zealand, but raised in nearby
Motueka Motueka is a town in the South Island of New Zealand, close to the mouth of the Motueka River on the western shore of Tasman Bay. It is the second largest in the Tasman Region, with a population of as of The surrounding district has a numb ...
. He initially attended Motueka High School, but later went to
Nelson College Nelson College is the oldest state secondary school in New Zealand, a feat achieved in part thanks to its original inception as a private school. It is an all-boys school in the City of Nelson that teaches from years 9 to 13. In addition, it r ...
, where he was a member of their top side. After finishing school he began working as a builder's apprentice while playing local club rugby for Nelson. During this time, he made his way through youth structures and was a member of the Knights Development team.


Club career


Tasman

Havili made the Tasman Mako squad for the first time in
2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
, and burst onto the scene with four tries in 10 appearances for the Mako as they reached the final of the ITM Cup Premiership before going down 36–32 to . He played all 11 games for the Mako in their run to the semi finals in
2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
, scoring 31 points in the process. Tasman were again losing finalists in
2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
with Havili playing a key role with two tries in 10 games. During the 2019 season Havili captained Tasman to their first Mitre 10 Cup premiership title, scoring a try in the final win over Wellington. Havili again captained the Mako to their second premiership title in a row in
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
.


Super Rugby

As a result of his impressive displays in his debut season at provincial level, Havili was named as a member of the Crusaders wider training squad for the
2015 Super Rugby season The 2015 Super Rugby season was the 20th season of Super Rugby and the fifth season featuring an expanded 15-team format. For sponsorship reasons, this competition was known as Asteron Life Super Rugby in Australia, Investec Super Rugby in New ...
. Somewhat surprisingly, he featured 11 times in his first season in
Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...
and helped himself to two tries which saw him promoted to the full squad for
2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
. He made 14 appearances in 2016 and contributed two tries as the Crusaders reached the competition's quarter finals before going down 42–25 to the in
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
. In October 2016, it was announced that he had signed a new three year deal which would see him stay with the Crusaders through to the end of the 2019 season. Havili started at centre against the touring
British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...
in 2017, slotting into the place of the injured
Ryan Crotty Ryan Stevenson Crotty (born 23 September 1988) is a New Zealand-born former rugby union Rugby player. Crotty has previously played for the Crusaders in the Super Rugby competition and Canterbury in the ITM Cup, captaining both teams. He is curr ...
. Havili played the full 80 minutes as the Crusaders lost to the Lions 3–12. In the
2017 Super Rugby season The 2017 Super Rugby season was the 22nd season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. It was the second season featuring an expanded ...
, Havili was a key member of the Crusaders squad that lost only one match on the way to their eighth Super Rugby title. Havili was one of the Crusaders stand out performers in the 2017 season, not only displacing All Blacks 60 plus test veteran
Israel Dagg Israel Jamahl Akuhata Dagg (born 6 June 1988) is a former New Zealand rugby union player who played for the Crusaders in Super Rugby. He has also played for the New Zealand Sevens team, and represents Hawkes Bay in the ITM Cup. Dagg played i ...
from the fullback position, causing Dagg to be shifted to the right wing upon his return from a knee injury, but was also voted the Crusaders Player of the Year for 2017. Havili was one of the leading try scorers of the 2017 Super Rugby season, finishing with eight tries. Winger
Seta Tamanivalu Setareki Tamanivalu (born 23 July 1992) is a Fijian rugby union player and former All Black. He currently plays in the centre (and occasionally wing) position for Toshiba Brave Lupus. Early life Tamanivalu was born and raised in Fiji. He atte ...
was the only Crusader to score more tries than Havili, scoring 10. Havili again played a crucial part in the Crusaders title wins in
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
and
2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
. Havili played most of the
2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa season The 2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa season (branded as Sky Super Rugby Aotearoa for sponsorship reasons) was a professional club rugby union tournament organised by New Zealand Rugby. Announced on 11 November 2020, the tournament was the second sea ...
at centre and starred as the won their fifth title in a row with Havili playing every minute in a 24–13 win over the in the final. In Round 6 of the
2022 Super Rugby Pacific season The 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season (known as Harvey Norman Super Rugby Pacific in Australia and DHL Super Rugby Pacific in New Zealand) is the 27th season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams f ...
Havili played his 100th game for the Crusaders against the , the Crusaders coming away with a 19–34 win. Havili had a stand out performance in the final against the as the Crusaders made it six in a row with a 7–21 win.


International career

Havili was a member of the New Zealand Under 20 side that finished third in the
2014 IRB Junior World Championship The 2014 IRB Junior World Championship was the seventh annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. The event was organised in Auckland, New Zealand by rugby's governing body, World Rugby, then known as the Internatio ...
in his home country. He was not named in the initial squad, but was later called up to replace the injured
Simon Hickey Simon Hickey (born 12 January 1994) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays for Crusaders (rugby union) in the Super Rugby. He has represented Auckland in the National Provincial Championship, playing as a first five-eighth. He is a for ...
. Havili was called up to the
All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...
for the
2017 Rugby Championship The 2017 Rugby Championship was the sixth edition of the expanded annual southern hemisphere The Rugby Championship, Rugby Championship, featuring Argentina national rugby union team, Argentina, Australia national rugby union team, Australia, Sout ...
squad after shoulder surgery ruled out Hurricanes back
Jordie Barrett Jordan Matthew Barrett (born 17 February 1997) is a New Zealand-born rugby union player who currently plays as a centre or fullback for Irish side Leinster in the United Rugby Championship. He represents New Zealand internationally. He previous ...
for the rest of the year. Havili made his All Blacks debut against the Pumas on 1 October 2017 at
José Amalfitani Stadium The José Amalfitani Stadium (also known as El Fortín de Liniers or Estadio Vélez Sarsfield) is a association football, football stadium located in the Liniers neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina, near Liniers railway station. The venue is t ...
in
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, replacing in form winger
Rieko Ioane Rieko Edward Ioane (; born 18 March 1997) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays as a Centre (rugby union), centre or Wing (rugby union), wing for the Blues (Super Rugby), Blues in Super Rugby and Auckland Rugby Union, Auckland in the Bu ...
with only 10 minutes left of the match. Despite only 10 minutes of game time Havili scored a try in the last minute of the test, allowing the All Blacks to beat Los Pumas 39–22. His standout performance against Argentina saw him named on the bench the following week against South Africa where he replaced the injured
Nehe Milner-Skudder Nehe Rihara Milner-Skudder (born 15 December 1990) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays for the Rugby New York. He was selected for the All Blacks in 2015, and was a key member of 2015 Rugby World Cup winning team. He score ...
shortly before half time. Havili was the best performing substitute off the bench in that fixture, setting up
Damian McKenzie Damian Sinclair McKenzie (born 20 April 1995) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays as a First five-eighth or Fullback for the All Blacks, as well as the Chiefs in Super Rugby and Waikato in the Bunnings NPC. Early life McKenzie was ...
's try to make the score a 25–24 win over the Springboks for New Zealand. Havili played in three games on the 2017 end of year tour, the first of which was a quiet performance in a 23–18 loss to the Wallabies where he replaced
Lima Sopoaga Lima Zachariah Sopoaga (born 3 February 1991) is a professional rugby union player who plays as a fly-half for Japan Rugby League One club Shimizu Blue Sharks. Born in New Zealand, he represents Samoa at international level after qualifying o ...
off the bench. Havili earned his first start for the All Blacks on 5 November 2017 in a 31–22 win over the Barbarians where he was replaced by Sopoaga in the 46th minute. Havili also started for the All Blacks ten days later in a 28–23 win over a French side where he produced a good performance and was not subbed off. Havili was not part of the side in 2018, 2019 and 2020 but after an outstanding season playing in the midfield for the during the
2021 Super Rugby season The 2021 Super Rugby season was the 26th season of Super Rugby, an annual men's international rugby union tournament organised by SANZAAR, involving teams from Australia and New Zealand. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the tournament was wholly reg ...
he was named in the
All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...
squad to play
Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...
and
Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...
in the July Steinlager Series. He made his return against Fiji at
Forsyth Barr Stadium Forsyth Barr Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Dunedin, New Zealand. At various stages of development it was also known as Dunedin Stadium or Awatea Street Stadium, or its non-commercial official name during the 2011 Rugby World Cup and 2 ...
, starting in the number 12 jersey in a 57–23 win for the All Blacks. He had a mixed game, scoring two brilliant tries but later being yellow carded. Havili became the first choice at 12 during the Ian Foster era, playing 22 test matches from 2021-2022; mostly in combination with
Rieko Ioane Rieko Edward Ioane (; born 18 March 1997) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays as a Centre (rugby union), centre or Wing (rugby union), wing for the Blues (Super Rugby), Blues in Super Rugby and Auckland Rugby Union, Auckland in the Bu ...
at 13. A key moment in Havili's run of game time was a crucial try against South Africa on 13 August 2022, which played a part in ending an unprecedented losing streak for the All Blacks; with the final score ending as a 35-23 win. Having missed much of the 2023 Super Rugby season, He played just two test matches in 2023; both being during the
2023 Rugby World Cup The 2023 Rugby World Cup () was the tenth men's Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national rugby union teams. It took place in France from 8 September to 28 October 2023 in nine venues across the country. The opening game ...
. Havili came off the bench as a replacement during the team's tournament opener against France, while he scored his ninth test try against Namibia.


Career statistics


List of international tries


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Havili, David 1994 births Living people Barbarian F.C. players Crusaders (rugby union) players New Zealand international rugby union players New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand sportspeople of Tongan descent People educated at Motueka High School People educated at Nelson College Rugby union centres Rugby union fly-halves Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union players from Nelson, New Zealand Tasman rugby union players 21st-century New Zealand sportsmen 2023 Rugby World Cup players