Siale Piutau (born 13 October 1985) is a

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 currently plays as a

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

for Shimizu Koto Blue Sharks in the

Japan Rugby League One Japan Rugby League One (), formerly known as the Top League (), is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, b ...

. Although born and educated in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, he represented

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 ...

internationally from 2011 to 2019, winning 43 caps. Piutau was Tonga's captain for the

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup () was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening matc ...

and retired from international rugby after a win against the USA. He is the elder brother of

and

player

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 ...

Playing career

Provincial Rugby

Piutau joined Counties Manukau during the

2006 Air New Zealand Cup The 2006 Air New Zealand Cup was the first season of a new structure for the National Provincial Championship (known as the Air New Zealand Cup for sponsorship reasons), contested by teams from New Zealand. The season ran from July to October 20 ...

. Lining up next to former

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 ...

Tana Umaga Jonathan Ionatana Falefasa Umaga (; ; born 27 May 1973) is a New Zealand former rugby union footballer and former captain of the national team, the All Blacks. He is head coach of Moana Pasifika in the Super Rugby competition. He was granted ...

in midfield, Piutau was in the

2010 ITM Cup The 2010 ITM Cup season was the fifth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on July 29, when Taranaki hosted Northland. It involved the top fourteen rugby union ...

for the Steelers. He started every game for Counties, and was one of the club's top performers over the course of the season. As a reward for his efforts, he was named the 2010 Counties Manukau Player of the Year.

Super Rugby

Piutau was included in the Chiefs Wider Training Group for the

2010 Super 14 season The 2010 Super 14 season kicked off in February 2010 with pre-season matches held from mid-January. It finished on 29 May. The 2010 season was the fifth and last season of the expanded Super Rugby, Super 14 format. The schedule, which covers 3� ...

, and made his Super Rugby debut as a substitute late in the season after a rash of injuries hit the Chiefs backs. For the

2011 Super 15 season The 2011 Super Rugby season was the first season of the new 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition, which involved teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Including its past iterations as Super 12 and Super 14, this was the 16t ...

, Piutau was signed by the Highlanders and emerged as a key squad member, making 13 starts and scoring 3 tries. In

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, he was limited by injuries and made only 5 appearances. Following the season, he left New Zealand to sign in Japan.

Japan

For the 2012–13 season, Piutau signed with

Yamaha Jubilo Shizuoka Blue Revs (formerly the Yamaha Júbilo) are a rugby union team based in Iwata, Shizuoka, Japan. The team came second behind Toshiba Brave Lupus in the second season of Japanese rugby's Top League (2004–05). They were coached by former ...

of the

Top League Japan Rugby League One (), formerly known as the Top League (), is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by ...

in Japan.

English Rugby

Wasps He signed for

Wasps RFC Wasps Rugby Football Club was a professional rugby union team. They last played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby, until being suspended on 12 October 2022. On 17 October 2022, the club entered administration, resulting in ...

on 4 February 2016 for the remainder of the 2015/2016 season. He made his debut in the 64–23 victory over

Saracens F.C. Saracens Rugby Club () are an English professional rugby union club based in North London, England, currently playing in Premiership Rugby, which is the highest level of competition in English rugby. Established in 1876, the club has spent mo ...

on 14 February 2016. After returning from his loan spell at Wasps, Piutau returned to Japan, and

. Bristol Piutau signed for

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

in the Greene King IPA Championship, initially on a short-term deal, which was later extended to a permanent contract, in December 2016. Piutau became a regular starter at Centre and was known for his on and off field leadership. He played 66 times for Bristol and was present for the Bears' promotion to the Premiership in 2018 and in the successful

European Challenge cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception ...

campaign in 2020. Piutau announced that he would leave Bristol at the conclusion of the 2020/2021 season.

Return to Japan

On 7 June 2021, Piutau left Bristol in England at the end of the 2020-21 season, as he returned to Japan to sign for Shimizu Koto Blue Sharks in the

competition.

International career

Piutau has 43 international caps for Tonga and this includes 19 as captain. His first cap was in the 2011 27-12 defeat against Fiji where he made his debut off the bench. His final game for Tonga was in the 31-19 victory in the

Rugby World Cup The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport. The tournament is administer ...

pool C match against

the USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in which Piutau scored a try and a later conversion. His final figures in his international career were 6 tries, 1 conversion totalling 32 points.

References

External links

Counties Manukau profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Piutau, Siale Living people New Zealand rugby union players Highlanders (rugby union) players 1985 births Tonga international rugby union players Chiefs (Super Rugby) players Counties Manukau rugby union players Shizuoka Blue Revs players New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in Japan New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in England New Zealand sportspeople of Tongan descent Rugby union players from Auckland Wasps RFC players Bristol Bears players Shimizu Koto Blue Sharks players Rugby union centres Tongan expatriate sportspeople in England Tongan expatriate rugby union players in Japan 2011 Rugby World Cup players 2015 Rugby World Cup players 2019 Rugby World Cup players People educated at Wesley College, Auckland