Isaia "Ice" Toeava (born 15 January 1986) is a 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 it ...

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 ...

Early career

Toeava was born in Samoa but moved to New Zealand in 1994 to live with his grandmother. He attended De La Salle College, Mangere East, he played alongside

Taniela Moa Taniela Moa (11 March 1985 – 16 December 2021) was a Tongan rugby union player. He last played for Section Paloise. He also played for the Blues and Chiefs in Super Rugby, and Auckland and Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moa ...

in the school's First XV rugby team. He represented New Zealand U-19 where he was named the IRB's Under-19 2005 player of the year. He played at second-five for New Zealand Under 19. Other early career highlights include playing second five for the Championship-winning Auckland Marist Under 21 side, coached by Peter Tubberty. His sister, Peta is an international netball player having debuted for the

Silver Ferns The New Zealand national netball team, commonly known as the Silver Ferns, represent New Zealand in international netball. The team take their nickname from the Silver Tree Fern ('' Cyathea dealbata''), which is an emblem for many New Zealand ...

in 2018.

Career

Toeava played for the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

and represented

in Sevens rugby. In 2005 Toeava was a shock selection for the All Blacks Grand Slam tour at only 19 years of age. He had had no Super 14 experience, and limited Provincial experience with just eight games for Auckland, and only a solitary start at first-five against Northland. He played his first-class rugby mainly at

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is e ...

and fullback. He played his provincial rugby for

Auckland 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 ...

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 ...

and was drafted to the

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

in the 2006 Super 14 season. He played for the Blues for the 2007 season. He was instrumental in the success of the Blues in the

2007 Super 14 season The 2007 Super 14 season started in February 2007 with preseason matches held from mid-January. It finished on 19 May with the final at ABSA Stadium in Durban, in the first final between two South African teams in the history of Super Rugby. Th ...

, scoring four tries and setting up many others from the outside centre position. He was later nominated for Rebel Sport Super 14 Player of the Year at the 2007 Steinlager Rugby Awards. Toeava played the final two games of the 2011 Tri-Nations tournament. At the 2011 Rugby World Cup, Toeava played in pool matches against Tonga (at left wing), Japan (at fullback) and Canada (coming of the bench in the second half). In July 2012, Toeava signed a two-year contract with the Tokyo-based

Canon Eagles The Yokohama Canon Eagles is a Japanese rugby union team founded in 1981 that competes in the Japan Rugby League One and is owned by Canon. The team was previously based in Machida, Tokyo, Japan. According to the official website, it was founde ...

. In March 2016 Toeava joined Clermont as a medical joker to cover an injury crisis and has held his place at the powerful club. His form helped guide Clermont to the French Top 14 championship and to the lead in their pool of the Champions Cup in January 2017, before an arm injury that required surgery sidelined him for the rest of the season. On 16 June 2020, Toeava signs for

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

rivals

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

ahead of the 2020–21 season. On 25 November 2021, he signed for another French side Bayonne in the second-tier

Pro D2 Rugby Pro D2, also known as Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was in ...

ahead of the 2021–22 season.

NZRU Annual Awards

* NZRU Age-Grade Player of the Year, 2005

New Zealand Representative Teams

* New Zealand Secondary Schools in 2003 * New Zealand Sevens rugby in 2005 * New Zealand Under 19 in 2005 * All Blacks in 2005–07, 2010

Career Notes

* Played every match in his first Super 14 season for the Hurricanes. * Scored two tries against Northland in his only start of the season for Auckland in the 2005 Air New Zealand NPC. * Received the 2005 IRB Under 19 Player of the Year award announced in November 2005 in Paris. * Scored 62 points in four matches for New Zealand Under 19 at the IRB Under 19 World Championships in South Africa in 2005, including five tries and 37 points from the boot.

References

External links

*
Auckland Rugby profileStatistics from Fox Sports
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toeava, Isaia 1986 births Living people Samoan rugby union players New Zealand rugby union players Auckland rugby union players Blues (Super Rugby) players Hurricanes (rugby union) players Yokohama Canon Eagles players Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay players Rugby union centres Rugby union fullbacks New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent Rugby union wings New Zealand international rugby union players World Rugby Awards winners People from Tuamasaga Expatriate rugby union players in Japan New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Japan New Zealand expatriate rugby union players People educated at De La Salle College, Māngere East