Esther Faiaoga-Tilo (born 26 September 1994) is a New Zealand

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. She plays for the

Blues Women The Blues Women's team (known as the Nib Health Funds, nib Blues Women for sponsorship reasons) is a New Zealand professional women's rugby union team based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the Super Rugby Aupiki competition. History ...

in the

Super Rugby Aupiki Super Rugby Aupiki is a professional women's rugby union club competition in New Zealand. Its inaugural season was held in March 2022. It is a steppingstone between the Farah Palmer Cup and the Black Ferns. Aupiki translates as ‘''the ascent to ...

competition.

Rugby career

Faiaoga-Tilo played for

Hurricanes Poua Hurricanes Poua are a New Zealand women's professional rugby union team based in Wellington, New Zealand that competes in the Super Rugby Aupiki competition. History Team name On 7 February 2022, The Hurricanes revealed the new name of their ...

in the inaugural season of

in 2022. She then moved up north after she was released by Hurricanes Poua to try-out for the Blues. The Blues initially overlooked her, but after encouragement from some of her former teammates she decided to attend an open training session for the Blues where she impressed enough to receive a mid-season callup for 2023. Faiaoga-Tilo was named in the

Black Ferns The New Zealand women's rugby union team, called the Black Ferns, represents New Zealand in women's international rugby union, which is regarded as the country's national sport. The team has won six out of nine Women's Rugby World Cup tournamen ...

30-player squad as an injury cover to compete in the

Pacific Four Series The Pacific Four Series is an international rugby union competition that is sanctioned by World Rugby. It is contested between four women's national teams — Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. It began in 2021 and was initiall ...

and O’Reilly Cup. She started in her international debut against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

on 14 July 2023, at

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. On 23 September 2023, she was named in the Black Ferns XV's team to play the Manusina XV's side at the

Navigation Homes Stadium Navigation Homes Stadium is a stadium in Pukekohe Pukekohe is a town in the Auckland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the southern edge of the Auckland Region, it is in South Auckland, between the southern shore of the ...

Pukekohe Pukekohe is a town in the Auckland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the southern edge of the Auckland Region, it is in South Auckland, between the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour and the mouth of the Waikato River. Th ...

. She scored a try in the match as her side won 38–12.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Faiaoga-Tilo, Esther 1994 births Living people New Zealand female rugby union players New Zealand women's international rugby union players