Aleki Lutui (born 1 July 1978) in Tofoa, Tonga, is a

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

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 ...

international International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

player. His position is hooker. He is currently playing club rugby for

Ampthill Ampthill () is a town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, between Bedford and Luton, with a population estimate of 8,100 (Mid year estimate 2017 from the ONS). It is administered bAmpthill Town Council The ward of Ampthill which also i ...

RFU Championship The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men’s English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when ...

. He previously played for Chiefs in the international Super 14 competition, as well as the

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaw ...

in the

Air New Zealand Cup The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

. He was also the top try scorer for the

in the 2002 National Provincial Championship (now, the

). He has appeared numerous times for his national team

. He made his debut for

in March 1999 in a match against

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. He played for

in their 2001 Pacific Rim campaign and later in the year toured

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. On June 5, 2004 he captained

for the first time in a match against Fiji. In June 2005 he captained

in four matches; two against both Fiji and

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); ...

. He went on tour with the

Pacific Islanders rugby union team The Pacific Islanders was a combined international rugby union team that played from 2004 to 2008. It represented Fiji, Samoa and Tonga; Niue and the Cook Islands also supplied players to the squad for their tour in 2004. The team did not play at R ...

in 2004 for a series of Tests against a number of southern rugby nations. He was included in the Pacific Nations tour to Europe in late 2006 and also played in the game against England at Twickenham in 2008. Lutui joined Worcester in September 2006 on a two-year deal. The Tongan international was a former police officer before he took up rugby. He has been a key figure for previous clubs in Super 14. He has since become an important player Sixways with his all-action displays and eye for the try line. Lutui, a powerful ball carrier and hitter, was named in the Tonga squad for the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France, the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand and the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England. On the 24 April 2013, Lutui signed a two-year deal which will bring him to

Edinburgh Rugby Edinburgh Rugby (formerly Edinburgh Reivers, Edinburgh Gunners) is one of the two professional rugby union teams from Scotland. The club competes in the United Rugby Championship, along with the Glasgow Warriors, its oldest rival. Edinburgh pl ...

in the

Pro12 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

. However, on 20 June 2014, Lutui left Edinburgh to return to the Premiership to join

Gloucester Rugby Gloucester Rugby are a professional rugby union club based in the West Country city of Gloucester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby, as well as in the European Rugby Champions Cup. The club was formed in ...

for next season's campaign. For the 2015-16 season, Lutui signed for

playing in

National League 1 National One (last season known as National League 1 and previously known before September 2009 as National Division Two), is the third of three national leagues in the domestic rugby union competition of England. It was known as Courage Leagu ...

, joining a strong contingent of

n players.

External links

Gloucester profileWorcester Warriors Profile
a
Worcester Warriors Profile
o
PacificIslanders.co.nz

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lutui, Aleki 1978 births Living people Pacific Islanders rugby union players People from Haʻapai Rugby union hookers Tonga international rugby union players Tongan police officers Tongan rugby union players Bay of Plenty rugby union players Worcester Warriors players Gloucester Rugby players Edinburgh Rugby players Chiefs (rugby union) players Tongan expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in England Expatriate rugby union players in New Zealand Tongan expatriate sportspeople in New Zealand Tongan expatriate sportspeople in England Sportspeople from Gloucestershire Ampthill RUFC players