Alando Soakai (born 11 May 1983 in West Auckland) is a former professional

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 its m ...

player from

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

best known for his time with the Highlanders in Super Rugby and

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

in the ITM Cup, and as captain of Otago in their 2009 and 2010 campaigns. He currently serves on the coaching staff of the

Kubota Spears Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay (commonly known as the Kubota Spears) is a Japanese rugby union team based in Funabashi, Chiba participating in the Japan Rugby League One. The team rebranded as Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay ahead of the rebr ...

in the Japan Rugby League One, the club where he finished his playing career.

Coaching career

Japan

Soakai closed out his career with the

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

-based Kubota Spears in 2015-16 season as a player-coach. Following his retirement, Soakai transition into full time coaching. 2022 Soakai went onto coach the Japan National Development Squad which successfully beat Uruguay in a test match.

Playing career

Provincial Rugby

Soakai was educated at

Auckland Grammar School Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

. Soakai shifted south to

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

in 2002 to attend the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate ...

, eventually signing to play provincial rugby for

. After spending the 2004 season on loan with

Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Re ...

, Soakai made his debut for Otago in 2005 and by the 2006 Air New Zealand Cup was a regular starter for the squad. In ensuing seasons, he developed into one of Otago's most reliable players, and was selected team captain for the 2009 Air New Zealand Cup. In the 2010 ITM Cup, Soakai made his 50th appearance for Otago and set a personal best with 3 tries over the course of the season, but endured a difficult season as captain as the team had a disastrous year to finish dead last in the competition. He played over fifty games in club rugby for Kaikorai Demons in the local Dunedin competition.

Super Rugby

Soakai was selected to the Highlanders squad for the 2007 Super 14 season, and appeared in all but one game for the team including 7 starts. After a mass exodus from the club following the 2007 Rugby World Cup, Soakai solidified his spot as the team's starting openside flanker in 2008. Soakai continued to be a fixture for the Highlanders through the 2009 and 2010 Super 14 seasons, starting 12 out of the 13 matches in both years. Following the 2011 season, Soakai left New Zealand to sign in Japan with the

International Play

Soakai is an accomplished rugby sevens

New Zealand Sevens The New Zealand national rugby sevens team competes in the World Rugby Sevens Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens, Summer Olympic Games and the Commonwealth Games. They have won a record twelve World Rugby Sevens Series titles. The team has been o ...

player, and has represented

and won a

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

gold medal in Melbourne in 2006 and an IRB World Sevens Series title in 2007. A strong 2009 Super Rugby season, Soakai was selected to the

Junior All Blacks The All Blacks XV is the second national rugby union team of New Zealand, after the All Blacks. New Zealand's second national team has had numerous names in its history: Junior All Blacks, New Zealand XV, New Zealand A, New Zealand B, All Blacks ...

for the 2009 IRB Pacific Nations Cup. He appeared in all 4 games in the tournament, including a start against Japan, as the squad swept their way to victory. 2010, Soakai earn the opportunity to captain the New Zealand Barbarians against the New Zealand Maori, marking 100 years of Maori Rugby. Having played for the

and the

team, Soakai was ineligible to take advantage of his ancestry to play for

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 ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Soakai, Alando 1983 births Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand People educated at Auckland Grammar School Highlanders (rugby union) players Southland rugby union players Otago rugby union players Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay players Living people New Zealand rugby union coaches New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand sportspeople of Tongan descent Rugby sevens players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games New Zealand expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in Japan New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Japan Rugby union players from Auckland New Zealand international rugby sevens players Commonwealth Games rugby sevens players for New Zealand Commonwealth Games medallists in rugby sevens Rugby union flankers Medallists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games