Siate Tokolahi (born 16 March 1992) 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 played as a

prop A prop, formally known as a (theatrical) property, is an object actors use on stage or screen during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

for and in New Zealand's domestic

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and the and in the international

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 ...

competition.

Early career

Born in

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 ...

, Tokolahi showed promise to become a top rugby player from an early age and was brought to New Zealand on a

Sean Fitzpatrick Sean Brian Thomas Fitzpatrick (born 4 June 1963) is a New Zealand former rugby union player. He played for the dominant Auckland team in the late 1980s and 1990s, and won the first two Super 12 titles with the Auckland Blues in 1996 and 1997. ...

scholarship to attend Sacred Heart College in Auckland. However, in 2009 aged 17 Tokolahi switched to St. Bede's College in Christchurch which made him eligible to play for Canterbury's youth sides. The move sparked controversy at the time and saw allegations of poaching leveled at the Canterbury Rugby Union. After graduating high-school, Tokolahi played for Canterbury's academy in 2012 and the Crusaders Knights development squad in 2013 while playing local club rugby for Belfast.

Senior career

Tokolahi first made the Canterbury squad aged 22 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 ...

, debuting in a 48-9 victory over perennial rivals in week 1 of the season. His ability to play in both the loosehead and tighthead prop positions saw him earn plenty of game time during his first year of provincial rugby and he ended up making 7 appearances, 2 starts and 5 from the bench as his side reached the ITM Cup semi-finals before losing out to .

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 ...

saw Canterbury back to winning ways, lifting the ITM Cup Premiership title after a 25-23 defeat of Auckland 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 ...

. Tokokahi was a key squad member, playing in 11 of the Cantabrians 12 games through the year with the majority of these appearances coming from the replacements bench as a result of stiff competition from the province's other front row forwards; Joe Moody,

Nepo Laulala Nepo Eti Laulala (born 6 November 1991) is a professional rugby union player who plays as a prop for Gloucester in the Premiership Rugby. Born in Samoa, he represented New Zealand at the international level from 2015-2023, after qualifying on ...

, Daniel Lienert-Brown and

Alex Hodgman Alexander Thomas O'Connor Atuolo Hodgman (born 16 July 1993) is a New Zealand born rugby union player who has played as a prop for Canterbury and in New Zealand's domestic National Provincial Championship, in the Super Rugby competition and h ...

. However, 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 ...

, Tokolahi finally nailed down a regular spot in Canterbury's starting XV, starting 11 of the red and blacks 12 games during the year as they went on to retain their Mitre 10 Cup Premiership crown with a comprehensive 43-27 win over which secured their 8th domestic title in 9 years.

Super Rugby

After just one season and seven games for Canterbury at domestic level, Tokolahi was named in the

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-based Super Rugby squad ahead of the 2015 season. He played every game during his first year in Hamilton as his team reached the tournament quarter-finals before losing out to New Zealand rivals, the . Throughout 2015 Tokolahi largely played the role of second-half replacement, starting only 5 of 17 games and this was a trend that continued through

. Faced with fierce competition in the shape of; Mitchell Graham, Kane Hames,

Hiroshi Yamashita Hiroshi Yamashita (born 1 January 1986) is a Japanese rugby union player. He was named in Japan's squad for the 2015 Rugby World Cup and in Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from ...

and

Atu Moli Atunaisa Moli (born 12 June 1995) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a Prop for the in Super Rugby. He has represented the New Zealand national rugby union team the All Blacks. Starting his career as a Tighthead Prop, ...

, Tokolahi could only manage 3 starts to complement 8 substitute appearances as the Chiefs got as far as the Super Rugby semi-finals before being knocked out by eventual champions, the . Searching for a more regular starting role at Super Rugby level, Tokolahi switched franchises ahead of 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 ...

, leaving the Chiefs in favour of the

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-based , tournament winners in 2015, who were seeking front-row replacements for the departed

Josh Hohneck Joshua Wolfe Hohneck (born 6 January 1986) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer. His regular playing position is as a prop. He has played for the Championship winning Highlanders in Super Rugby and Waikato in the Mitre 10 Cup. On 31 March 2 ...

and the injured Brendon Edmonds.

Career Honours

Canterbury *

National Provincial Championship The National Provincial Championship may refer to: * National Provincial Championship (1976–2005), original competition before reform into 14 sides * National Provincial Championship (2006–present) The National Provincial Championship (NP ...

Super Rugby Statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tokolahi, Siate 1992 births Tongan rugby union players Canterbury rugby union players Chiefs (Super Rugby) players Rugby union props Tongan emigrants to New Zealand People educated at Sacred Heart College, Auckland People educated at St Bede's College, Christchurch Living people Highlanders (rugby union) players Southland rugby union players Section Paloise players Tongan expatriate rugby union players in France Tonga international rugby union players Crusaders (rugby union) players