Ahsee Tuala (born 23 August 1989) is a Samoan

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

player who plays as a fullback for Aviva Premiership side

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...

Early career

Tuala was born in Samoa, but moved to New Zealand with his family aged 2 years old and grew up in South Auckland.

Club career

Tuala began his senior rugby career in New Zealand with the Counties Manukau Steelers, debuting during the

2009 Air New Zealand Cup The 2009 Air New Zealand Cup was the 33rd provincial rugby union competition, the fourth since the competition reconstruction in 2006, involving the top 14 provincial unions in New Zealand. It ran for 15 weeks from 30 July to 7 November. It was ...

season while only 20 years old. His ability to play in several positions across the backline saw him become an integral part of the Steelers squad and earn over 50 ITM Cup caps. He was also involved in the Chiefs Development squads in both 2010 and 2011. On 3 February 2015, Tuala signed for English club

in the Aviva Premiership until the end of the 2014-15 season. However, he signed a new deal with Northampton, making his move permanent at

Franklin's Gardens Franklin's Gardens (currently known for sponsorship purposes as cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens) is a purpose-built rugby stadium in Northampton, England. It is the home stadium of Northampton Saints. The stadium holds 15,249 people. The fou ...

. It could be said that while Tuala has been at Saints for two season now, his breakthrough year was this past season (2016/17). The full back secured his place within the starting lineup on a weekly basis while

George North George Philip North (born 13 April 1992) is a Welsh professional rugby union player who plays for the Ospreys in the United Rugby Championship and the Wales national team. He has also represented the British & Irish Lions and currently has th ...

was away on international duty and retained that on the wing's return, crossing the whitewash five times that season for Saints. Teaming up with the rest of Saints' backline to form a formidable force when firing, Tuala was awarded Saints' Supporter' Breakthrough Player of the Year award at the 2016/17 End of Season Awards, pipping newcomers Nic Groom and Juan Pablo Estelles to the post. Most recently Tuala helped Saints secure a place in European Rugby Champions Cup, scoring the match winning try as Saints beat Stade Francais by one point to clinch the final top-tier European spot.

International career

Despite being born in Samoa, Tuala's early international experience came with New Zealand. He was a member of the New Zealand Under-20 wider squad in 2009 and the New Zealand sevens wider training group in 2012. However, in January 2012 it was announced that Tuala had withdrawn from the New Zealand sevens squad to focus on gaining international recognition with his native

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

. His ambitions were realized 2 years later when he was named in the Samoan squad for the

2014 end-of-year rugby union tests The 2014 end-of-year rugby tests, also known as the 2014 autumn internationals in the Northern Hemisphere, were international rugby union matches predominantly played between visiting Southern Hemisphere countries and European nations. Brazil, Cana ...

and made his international debut on 14 November 2014 in a 23-13 victory over in

Vannes Vannes (; br, Gwened) is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It was founded over 2,000 years ago. History Celtic Era The name ''Vannes'' comes from the Veneti, a seafaring Celtic people who live ...

, France. Most recently Tuala was called up, alongside fellow Saint Ken Pisi, to the Samoan squad for the 2017 internationals.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuala, Ahsee 1989 births Living people Samoan rugby union players Samoa international rugby union players Rugby union fly-halves Rugby union fullbacks Counties Manukau rugby union players Northampton Saints players Samoan emigrants to New Zealand