Aukusitino Junior Poluleuligaga (born 5 February 1981) is a Samoan

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 ...

international International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

player. He previously played for

Exeter Chiefs Exeter Chiefs (officially Exeter Rugby Club) is an England, English professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1871 and since 2006 has played i ...

in the Aviva Premiers before returning to Auckland and played two years with

Auckland rugby union team Auckland are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Auckland, New Zealand. The union was originally established in 1883, with the National Provincial Championship established in 1976. They now play in the reformed National Pro ...

before retiring 2015. He played as a Scrum-half and was educated at

De La Salle College, Mangere East De La Salle College is an integrated Catholic secondary boys' school in the south of Auckland, New Zealand. Established in 1953 by the De La Salle Brothers, it continues to educate young men in the Catholic faith and Christian values. In New Zea ...

. His name is often abbreviated to Junior Polu. He is currently the Director of Rugby for Brothers Rugby Club in Brisbane, Australia. He also worked at Sunnybank Rugby Club in Brisbane as a Rugby Development Manager and before moving to Australia he was the Director of Rugby and General Manager for the Papatoetoe Rugby Football Club, Auckland New Zealand.

Career

So much of Junior Poluleuligaga's career depended on his great rival

Steve So'oialo Steven So'oialo (born 11 May 1977 in Apia, Samoa, Apia, Samoa) is a Samoan rugby union footballer. He played Scrum-half (rugby union), scrum-half for England, English club Harlequin F.C., Harlequins and formerly Orrell R.U.F.C., Orrell. He played ...

. Polu began his career by breaking into the North Harbour provincial side, he was spotted for the Samoan national team and in 2006 was selected to nationalise to play for his parents country, representing composite side

Pacific Islanders Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subreg ...

as a

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

n, having been unwanted for the 2004 tour due to the presence of So'oialo.

Pacific Islanders' Tour

A solid tour as Mosese Rauluni's understudy lead to several offers from European clubs, but Polu declined and remained true to his

North Harbour North Harbour or North Harbor may refer to: Canada * North Harbour, St. Mary's Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, a community on St. Mary's Bay * North Harbour, Placentia Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, a community on Placentia Bay * North Harbour, ...

contract and returned home.

International career

Following the success of the Pacific Islanders tour Polu represented

in the IRB Pacific Nations Cup in the summer of 2007 due to the absence of So'oialo. Here he was again 2nd choice to So'oialo, although his luck was about the change.

2007 World Cup

So'oialo and Polu were both selected for the 2007 RWC squad, as Samoa looked to upset 2003 champions

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and eventual champions

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. Polu was selected ahead of So'oialo for the opening game against the springboks, which they lost despite an encouraging start. So'oialo was restored for the derby game against

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 ...

which despite entering as overwhelming favourites lost 19–12. Polu was once again restored for the do or die game with

setting up an excellent try for

Mahonri Schwalger Mase Mahonri Schwalger (born 15 September 1978) is a former Samoan professional rugby union footballer who last played in New Zealand for the Chiefs in the Super Rugby competition and for Counties Manukau in the National Provincial Championshi ...

. Having travelled north to France for the world cup Polu joined

RC Toulon Rugby Club Toulonnais (), also referred to as Rugby Club Toulon or simply Toulon, is a French professional rugby union club based in Toulon and competing in the Top 14. Located on the French Riviera, in the Provence region, the club plays its h ...

on a short-term deal.

Harlequins

In the off season before the 2008/09 season he signed for Harlequins ironically moving to join So'oialo, and has since ousted his great rival for the bench spot behind

scrum half

Danny Care Daniel Stuart Care (born 2 January 1987) is an English professional rugby union player who played as a scrum-half for Premiership Rugby club Harlequins and the England national team. Early life Care was born in Leeds, West Yorkshire. He ...

. When his Harlequins contract finished in the summer of 2009 he joined the Bay of Plenty Steamers in the Air New Zealand Cup.

Waikato Chiefs

In 2010 Junior Polu was selected for the Waikato Chiefs as a backup Scrum Half for Brendon Leonard. On 21 February 2010 Junior Polu was selected ahead of Leonard at No. 9 against the Lions.

Exeter Chiefs

On 17 August 2010 Exeter Chiefs announced that they had completed a deal and visa for Junior. It was announced in local media in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, England that Polu will be leaving Exeter Chiefs at the end of the 2012/13 season. In 2015 he was selected for the

Asia Pacific Dragons The Asia Pacific Dragons, also known as APDs, is a rugby union team based in Singapore that played in the Global Rapid Rugby Showcase Series of 2019. History The team is owned and managed by Carinat Sports Marketing based in Hong Kong. The ...

References

External links