Codemeru ”Cody” Nanai Vai (born 25 February 2004) is a New Zealand professional rugby union player who plays as a wing for National Provincial Championship club Bay of Plenty and the New Zealand national sevens team.

Early and personal life

His father Kitiona Nanai Vai was a Western Samoa international who played in their

1991 Rugby Union World Cup The 1991 Rugby World Cup was the second edition of the Rugby World Cup, and was jointly hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France: at the time, the five European countries who participated in the Five Nations Championship. This was ...

team. He is the younger brother of rugby players

Melani Nanai Melani Nanai (born 3 August 1993) is a Samoan rugby union player who plays as an outside back for the . Early career Born and raised in Samoa, Nanai came to New Zealand to attend high school at De La Salle College in the southern part of Auc ...

and

Kitiona Vai Kitiona Vai (born 23 April 2001) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays for the New Zealand national sevens team. Career He attended De La Salle College, Auckland. He played for Power in the 2020 Ignite Rugby Sevens league. In May 202 ...

. His sister

Corina Nanai-Vai Corina is a female given name of ancient Greek origin, derived from κόρη (''korē'') meaning "girl, maiden".Farah Palmer Cup The Farah Palmer Cup (formerly known as Women's Provincial Championship until 2016), is the highest level domestic women's rugby union competition in New Zealand and is named after the former Black Ferns captain, Farah Palmer. This contest is hel ...

for the Auckland Storm. He attended

De La Salle College, Auckland , motto_translation = Fight The Good Fight of Faith , type = State integrated, single-sex boys' secondary school (years 7–13) , established = 1953; years ago , address = 81 Gray Avenue,Māngere East,Auckland,New Zealand , coordinate ...

. He also attended St Peter's School, Cambridge on a scholarship.

Career

He plays for Bay of Plenty as a winger and also played for the Chiefs U20 side. Vai joined the New Zealand national rugby sevens team as injury cover in 2023 and scored a try on debut. He played as they won the Hong Kong Sevens title in 2023, scoring a try after just 25 seconds in the final against Fiji. He was a member of the New Zealand Sevens team that retained the Hong Kong title in 2024, scoring a try in the final as they beat France 10-7.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vai, Cody 2004 births Living people New Zealand rugby union players Rugby union wings New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent Bay of Plenty rugby union players