Teihorangi Walden

Teihorangi Thomas Walden (born 25 May 1993) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a midfield back for in New Zealand's domestic Mitre 10 Cup and the in the international Super Rugby competition. He also plays for the Rugby New York (Ironworkers) in Major League Rugby (MLR).

Early career

Walden is originally from New Plymouth and was schooled at Francis Douglas Memorial College in his hometown where he played first XV rugby. During his schooldays, he was selected in the schools side alongside future teammate Jackson Hemopo. He moved south to Dunedin to attend university and at the same time began working his way through the rugby structures; he was a member of their academy, played for their age group sides and also turned out for Southern in the local Otago rugby competition.

Senior career

His first taste of senior rugby came with the Otago Razorbacks in 2013, making 5 appearances including 1 start as the men from Dunedin finished as runner up on the Championship log before being defeated by in the semi-finals. In 2014 he established himself as a regular with 9 starts and 2 tries in what was a disappointing season overall for Otago, culminating in a 6th-place finish out of 7 teams.

2015 was much more positive for both Walden and the Razorbacks with him starting 9 times and scoring 1 try and Otago finishing 3rd on the log before being comprehensively defeated by in the semi-finals. He was again in fine form during the 2016 Mitre 10 Cup scoring 2 tries in 11 games as the Razorbacks finished 1st on the championship log before surprisingly succumbing to in the tournament final which consigned them to another season of championship rugby in 2017.

Super Rugby

Some impressive performances in an under-performing Otago side brought him to the attention of Dunedin-based Super Rugby franchise, the who named him as a member of their wider training group for the 2015 Super Rugby season. 2015 was to prove to be a memorable year for the Highlanders who lifted the Super Rugby title for the first time in their history, while for Walden, the presence of midfield backs such as Malakai Fekitoa, Richard Buckman, Jason Emery and Shaun Treeby meant he had to spend the year kicking his heels on the sidelines. His Super Rugby debut came the following year in week 1 of the competition, a 33–31 defeat away to the Blues. Overall he scored one try in 6 matches while still a wider training group member in 2016 and new Highlanders head coach, Tony Brown saw fit to promote him to the full squad for 2017.

International career

Walden was a member of the New Zealand Under-20 side which finished 4th in the 2013 IRB Junior World Championship in France, although he didn't get any game time during the tournament.

Personal life

Walden is a New Zealander of Māori descent ( Te Atiawa descent).

Super Rugby statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walden, Teihorangi
1993 births
New Zealand rugby union players
Rugby union centres
Otago rugby union players
Rugby union players from New Plymouth
Te Āti Awa people
People educated at Francis Douglas Memorial College
Highlanders (rugby union) players
Living people
Taranaki rugby union players
Hurricanes (rugby union) players
Māori All Blacks players
Rugby New York players
New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in the United States
21st-century New Zealand sportsmen