Folau Fakatava
Full nameFolau Moe Lotu Nonu Fakatava
Date of birth (1999-12-16) 16 December 1999
Place of birthNukuʻalofa, Tonga
Height177 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight80 kg (176 lb; 12 st 8 lb)
SchoolHastings Boys' High School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Half-back
Current team Hawke's Bay, Highlanders
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2018– Hawke's Bay 45 (40)
2019– Highlanders 37 (45)
Correct as of 21 October 2023
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2020 Moana Pasifika 1 (0)
2022– New Zealand 2 (0)
2023 All Blacks XV 1 (5)
Correct as of 9 July 2023

Folau Fakatava (born 16 December 1999) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for the Highlanders in Super Rugby and Hawke's Bay in New Zealand's domestic National Provincial Championship competition.[1][2]

Early career

Fakatava was born in Nuku'alofa, Tonga, and started playing rugby while at high school. Hoping to be awarded a scholarship from a New Zealand school, he travelled with national age-group teams to New Zealand to play against Auckland schools. After three years, he was successful in his endeavour and, at the age of 16, moved to New Zealand to attend Hastings Boys' High School.[3] While there, he played First XV rugby alongside future Hawke's Bay teammates Devan Flanders, Lincoln McClutchie, Danny Toala and Kianu Kereru-Symes. He helped his team to two National Top 4 finals, narrowly losing the first 13 - 14 to Mount Albert Grammar School in 2016,[4] but winning the second a year later against Hamilton Boys' High School 25 to 17 after an undefeated season.[5] Unfortunately, Fakatava got injured in the semi-final and couldn't take part in that 2017 final.[6]

In 2017, Fakatava was named in the Hurricanes U18 team that beat Crusaders U18 by 25 to 10.[7][8]

Senior career

On 7 August 2017, the Hawke's Bay Rugby Union announced that four players of that year's successful Hastings Boys' High School First XV side, including Folau Fakatava, had signed with the union for the 2018 and 2019 Mitre 10 Cup seasons.[9] Fakatava made his debut against Southland on 19 August 2018[1] and went on to play eight games that first season, mostly as a replacement for incumbent scrum-half Brad Weber.[10] With Weber in the All Blacks squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, the 2020 Bledisloe Cup and Tri Nations, Fakatava established himself as the starting scrumhalf for the Magpies in the following seasons. In 2020, he was named the Mitre 10 Cup Player of the Year and awarded the Duane Monkley Medal.[11] He is contracted to Hawke's Bay for 2020 and 2021.[12]

His efforts in the 2018 Mitre 10 Cup season earned Fakatava a three-year Super Rugby contract with the Highlanders.[13][3] He made his debut for the southern franchise on 1 March 2019 against the Rebels.[14]

International career

As a 15-year-old, Fakatava represented Tonga at the 2015 Pacific Games in touch rugby.[15][16]

In 2016, following his first successful First XV season playing for Hastings Boys' High School, Fakatava was named in the New Zealand Barbarians Schools team that played matches against Australian Schools and Fiji Schools.[17]

The following year, he was invited to attend the 2017 Schools Rugby Development Camp, but was unavailable for the New Zealand Secondary Schools team for a three-match international series in Australia, due to injury.[18][19]

On 5 December 2020, Fakatava played for the Moana Pasifika team in a one-off match against the Māori All Blacks.[20]

On 13 June 2022, Fakatava was – for the first time – named in the All Blacks squad after qualifying on residency grounds.[21] He made his test debut for New Zealand – coming off the bench – on 9 July 2022 against Ireland.[22]

Having missed the All Blacks' 2022 Northern Tour due to reinjuring his ACL,[23] he was named in the All Blacks XV squad for a two-match tour of Japan on 18 June 2023.[24] He made his debut for the team via the bench on 8 July 2023, scoring a scintillating individual try on debut.[25]

Style of play

Head Coach Mark Ozich, who previously coached Fakatava at Hastings Boys' High School and currently at the Magpies, said of him: "At schoolboy level he dominated with his ability to run from the base or a scrum or a lineout so picking his moments. ... One of his biggest strengths is to go to the line and put people into holes, or dummy and go himself. Lots of halfbacks can run and die with the ball, but Folau will run and offload in contact, he will put a short ball into somebody running an angle and he sees that space really well for a young halfback."[10]

Reference list

  1. 1 2 "Folau Fakatava Highlanders Player Profile". Highlanders. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  2. ↑ "2023 Magpies squad release". Hawke's Bay Rugby Union. 5 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Mitre 10 Cup rising stars: Folau Fakatava - the kind-hearted hairdressing halfback". Stuff New Zealand. 19 November 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  4. ↑ "Mount Albert Grammar win national 1st XV title". Stuff New Zealand. 6 September 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  5. ↑ "Hasting Boys' High School complete their perfect season with national 1st XV title". Stuff New Zealand. 10 September 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  6. ↑ "Lincoln McClutchie - one game at a time". College Sport Media. 22 November 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  7. ↑ "Hurricanes Under 18 Team For 2017 Announced". Hurricanes Youth Rugby Council. 13 July 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  8. ↑ "Hurricanes Under 18 win close Crusaders encounter". Hurricanes Youth Rugby Council. 16 July 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  9. ↑ "Exciting young talent commits to Hawke's Bay Rugby". Hawke's Bay Rugby Union. 7 August 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  10. 1 2 "How teenager Folau Fakatava went from Tonga to Super Rugby in three years". Stuff New Zealand. 30 March 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  11. ↑ "All Blacks Captain Sam Cane wins Kelvin R Tremain Player of the Year award" (Press release). All Blacks. 17 December 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  12. ↑ "Former Hastings Boys' High talent re-signed for Magpies". Hawke's Bay Rugby Union. 23 July 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  13. ↑ "Pulse Energy Highlanders confirm squad for 2019 Super Rugby Season" (Press release). Highlanders. 31 October 2018. Archived from the original on 5 November 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  14. ↑ "Pulse Energy Highlanders to play the Melbourne Rebels". Highlanders. 27 February 2019. Archived from the original on 27 February 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  15. ↑ "Pacific Games (2015) - Men's Open". Federation of International Touch. 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  16. ↑ "Pacific Games (2015) - Mixed Open". Federation of International Touch. 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  17. ↑ "NZ Schools and Barbarians Schools teams named" (Press release). All Blacks. 26 September 2016. Archived from the original on 16 November 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  18. ↑ "Players selected for NZ Schools rugby development camp" (Press release). All Blacks. 12 September 2017. Archived from the original on 12 September 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  19. ↑ "New Zealand Secondary Schools 2017: preview". U20 Rugby. 25 September 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  20. ↑ "Moana Pasifika names side to face Māori All Blacks". allblacks.com (Press release). 3 December 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  21. ↑ "Six new caps in All Blacks squad for 2022 Steinlager Series". allblacks.com (Press release). 13 June 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  22. ↑ "Dalton Papalii named at blindside for second test against Ireland". allblacks.com (Press release). 7 July 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  23. ↑ "Changes to All Blacks squad for Northern Tour". allblacks.com (Press release). 22 October 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  24. ↑ "All Blacks XV Squad named for Japan tour". allblacks.com (Press release). 18 June 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  25. ↑ "Perofeta shines in All Blacks XV victory". allblacks.com (Press release). 8 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
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