Frank Halai (born 6 March 1988) is a Tongan

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 winger for the

Austin Gilgronis The Austin Gilgronis were a professional rugby union team based in Austin, Texas, United States. The team was founded in 2017 as the Austin Elite, and competed in Major League Rugby. History On September 19, 2019, after extensive polling at the ...

Major League Rugby Major League Rugby (MLR) is a professional rugby union competition in the United States. The league comprises 11 teams. While operating outside of the governance and oversight of the national governing body, the league is officially sanctioned ...

(MLR). He previously played for Pau in the Top 14. and for Counties Manukau in the

ITM Cup ITM may stand for: Education * ITM Law School, one of the professional graduate schools of ITM University * ITM-IFM, Mumbai, India * Institut Teknologi Mara, a public university in Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia * Institute for Information, Tel ...

, and before that

Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...

. Halai is a former All Black Sevens and

All Black 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 ...

representative, having played one test match in 2013.

Career

Halai made his

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 ...

debut in Round 1 of the 2013 season when he started on the wing and played all 80 minutes of a 34-20 win over the Hurricanes in Wellington, scoring a try in the process. He ended the season as the

leading try scorer with 10, and was third in line breaks with 21, behind his Blues team mates Rene Ranger and

Charles Piutau Salesi Tu'ipulotu Piutau (born 31 October 1991), often known as Charles Piutau, is a professional rugby union player who plays as a fullback for Japan Rugby League One club Shizuoka Blue Revs. Born in New Zealand to Tongan parents, he repres ...

who had 24 each. On 16 March 2017, Halai leaves Wasps in England for French club Pau in the

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also ...

from the 2017-18 season.

Notes

External links

* *
Blues profile

Steelers profile
*
Wasps RFC profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Halai, Frank Tongan emigrants to New Zealand Tongan rugby union players 1988 births Living people New Zealand international rugby union players Rugby union wings Blues (Super Rugby) players Counties Manukau rugby union players Waikato rugby union players New Zealand international rugby sevens players Wasps RFC players New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in France Rugby union players from Haʻapai Section Paloise players Austin Gilgronis players New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in England New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in the United States 21st-century New Zealand sportsmen People educated at Wesley College, Auckland