Sean Alfred Uilisi Halaholo (born 6 July 1990 in New Zealand) is a professional

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 in New Zealand's domestic

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 ...

competition. He previously played for

Cardiff Rugby Cardiff Rugby () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms Park. Originally formed in 1876, from 2003 to 2021 the first team was known as the Cardiff Blues before rebranding back ...

in the

United Rugby Championship The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in ...

and

European Professional Club Rugby European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) is the governing body and organiser of the two major club rugby union tournaments: the European Rugby Champions Cup and the EPCR Challenge Cup. A third tournament, the European Rugby Challenge Cup Qualifyin ...

competitions, became a

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 ...

champion with the

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

and played for and in the NPC. Halaholo was born in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, New Zealand, to parents of Tongan descent, but has represented

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

internationally after becoming eligible to play for that country on residency grounds.

Early career

Halaholo attended

Mount Albert Grammar School Mount Albert Grammar School, commonly known as MAGS, is a co-educational state secondary school in Mount Albert in Auckland, New Zealand. It teaches students in year levels 9 to 13. , Mount Albert Grammar School is the second largest school in N ...

and played for the school's 1st XV team that won the Auckland Secondary Schools title in 2007 and were runners-up in New Zealand's National First XV Championship that same year. After finishing secondary school, Halaholo began his premier club rugby career with Grammar Carlton before moving to Silverdale and then returning to his junior club Suburbs.

Senior career

It was while playing for Suburbs that Halaholo caught the attention of selectors and he headed to New Zealand's far south to gain his

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 ...

break with the Stags in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

. He made a big impact in

Invercargill Invercargill ( , ) is the southernmost and westernmost list of cities in New Zealand, city in New Zealand, and one of the Southernmost settlements, southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland Region, Southlan ...

and after two seasons with the Stags, he was named in the squad for the

2015 Super Rugby season The 2015 Super Rugby season was the 20th season of Super Rugby and the fifth season featuring an expanded 15-team format. For sponsorship reasons, this competition was known as Asteron Life Super Rugby in Australia, Investec Super Rugby in New ...

. Stuck behind the All Blacks midfield combination of

Ma'a Nonu Ma'a Allan Nonu (; born 21 May 1982) is a professional rugby union player from New Zealand who currently plays for Toulon in the Top 14. He plays as an inside centre, but can also cover outside centre and wing. He was a key member of the All ...

and

Conrad Smith Conrad Gerard Smith (born 12 October 1981) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player, who played predominantly at centre. He captained the Hurricanes in Super Rugby, and played for New Zealand from 2004 until 2015. He was a key mem ...

, Halaholo made only three appearances off the bench for the Hurricanes that season. For

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 ...

, Halaholo was offered a wider training squad contract. He started the season on the bench, but finished it in the starting team that won the Hurricanes' first Super Rugby title, defeating the

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the tip of its tail. It is se ...

20–3 in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

Westpac Stadium Wellington Regional Stadium (commercially known as Sky Stadium through naming rights) is a major sporting venue in Wellington, New Zealand. The stadium's bowl site size is . The stadium was built in 1999 by Fletcher Construction and is situa ...

. Halaholo signed with for the

2016 Mitre 10 Cup The 2016 Mitre 10 Cup season was the eleventh season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on August 18, when North Harbour (National Provincial Championship), North Ha ...

season. He made his debut for the province on 21 August 2016 against and went on to play ten games for the Mooloos. After finishing his season with Waikato, Halaholo joined

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

on a three-year contract. He played his first

Pro 12 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in ...

game for Cardiff on 4 November 2016 in a 34–28 win over Benetton Treviso, scoring the match-winning try on debut. His

European Rugby 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 i ...

debut followed on 10 December 2016 against

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

. On 11 May 2018, he was part of the Cardiff team that lifted the Challenge Cup after beating

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

31–30 in the

2017–18 European Rugby Challenge Cup The 2017–18 European Rugby Challenge Cup was the fourth edition of the European Rugby Challenge Cup, an annual second-tier rugby union competition for professional clubs. It was also the 22nd season of the Challenge Cup competition in all forms, ...

Final. In May 2024, Cardiff announced that Halaholo would be leaving the club and return to New Zealand, having played 112 games for the club. Back in New Zealand, Halaholo joined for the

2024 Bunnings NPC The 2024 Bunnings NPC season was the 19th season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition, the National Provincial Championship, since it turned professional in 2006. It involved the top 14 provincial rugby unions of New Zealand. For ...

season. With his new team, he reached the NPC final, which they narrowly lost 23–20 to in extra time.

International career

Halaholo was named in the 2007 New Zealand Secondary Schools team alongside future

All Blacks 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 ...

Tawera Kerr-Barlow Tawera Narada James Kerr-Barlow (born 15 August 1990) is an Australian-born New Zealand rugby union rugby player . His regular playing position is scrum-half. He plays for La Rochelle in the Top 14. Kerr-Barlow represented New Zealand under 2 ...

Elliot Dixon Elliot Christopher Dixon (born 4 September 1989) is a professional rugby union player. He represents the Highlanders in the Super Rugby competition and Southland in the ITM Cup, playing at number 8. Dixon is best known for his three test appe ...

and

Charlie Ngatai Charlie James Ngatai (born 17 August 1990) is a New Zealand professional rugby union player who plays as a centre, although he can also cover other backline positions. Ngatai last played for Leinster Rugby in Ireland, having previously been Capt ...

for their tour of Australia. In 2009, Halaholo played for Tonga U20 at the

IRB Junior World Championship The World Rugby Under 20 Championship (known as the IRB Junior World Championship until 2014) is an annual international rugby union competition. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, World Rugby, and is contested by 12 men's juni ...

in Japan. Halaholo was named in the

squad for the first time for the uncapped international against the

Barbarians A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...

on 30 November 2019 after qualifying for Wales through the 3-year residency rule, but was ruled out of the match with a long-term knee injury that he suffered while playing a Challenge Cup match with Cardiff against

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its home ...

on 23 November 2019. Following injuries to fellow midfielders Johnny Williams, Jonathan Davies and

George North George Philip North (born 13 April 1992) is a professional rugby union player who plays as a centre for Pro D2 club Provence Rugby. Born in England, he grew up in Wales and represented Wales at international level between 2010 and 2024, as we ...

, Halaholo was recalled to the Wales squad for their

2021 Six Nations Championship The 2021 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 22nd Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, ...

match against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

on 13 February 2021. With

Nick Tompkins Nicholas Adam Tompkins (born 16 February 1995) is a professional rugby union player who plays as a centre for Premiership Rugby club Saracens. Born in England, he represents Wales at international level after qualifying on ancestry grounds. In ...

and

Owen Watkin Owen Paul Watkin (born 12 October 1996) is a Welsh professional rugby union player who plays as a centre for United Rugby Championship club Ospreys and the Wales national team. Club career A product of the Ospreys Academy, he signed his fi ...

picked to start, Halaholo was named on the bench for the game. He made his international debut in the 32nd minute, when fullback Leigh Halfpenny went off for a head injury assessment. He played a total of 10 tests for Wales.

References

External links

NZ Rugby History profileAll Rugby profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Halaholo, Willis 1990 births Living people People educated at Mount Albert Grammar School New Zealand sportspeople of Tongan descent New Zealand rugby union players Rugby union players from Auckland Welsh rugby union players Wales international rugby union players New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in Wales Rugby union centres Southland rugby union players Hurricanes (rugby union) players Waikato rugby union players Cardiff Rugby players Bay of Plenty rugby union players