Jone Macilai-Tori (born 27 August 1990 in

Suva, Fiji Suva () is the capital and largest city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rewa Province, Central Divis ...

), 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 its m ...

player. He plays for in the

Bunnings NPC Bunnings Group Limited, trading as Bunnings Warehouse or Bunnings, is an Australian household hardware chain. The chain has been owned by Wesfarmers since 1994, and has stores in Australia and New Zealand. Bunnings was founded in Perth, Wester ...

. He has previously played for the . Macilai plays as a winger.

Career

Macilai was spotted by local sevens coach Lote Rasiga and was included in the Red Rock sevens squad. He was later spotted by

Awanui Awanui is an historical river port in the far north of New Zealand, on the banks of the Awanui River just before it flows into Rangaunu Bay. Awanui lies at the south end of the Aupouri Peninsula in the Far North District Council of the Northla ...

Rugby Club coach Glen Subritzky playing sevens at Coral Coast sevens tournament in Fiji in 2012 who included him in his squad. His performance for Awanui saw him selected for Northland in 2013 alongside the returning Rupeni Caucau. He missed most of the games in the season due to a dislocated elbow. A strong

2014 ITM Cup Fourteen or 14 may refer to: * 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15 * one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014 Music * 14th (band), a British electronic music duo * ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013 *''14'', an unrele ...

saw him receive Super Rugby offers from the

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

, Highlanders and

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

. He signed with the Crusaders and partnered with block busting Fijian winger,

Nemani Nadolo Nemani Nadolo (formerly Ratu Nasiganiyavi; born 31 January 1988) is a Fijian-Australian rugby union player. He currently plays for New South Wales Waratahs in Super Rugby, usually as a wing or centre, and the Fiji national team. Nadolo was t ...

. A broken arm in pre season meant he was out injured for 3 months. He made his debut off the bench on 8 May scoring a try on debut against the

Reds Reds may refer to: General * Red (political adjective), supporters of Communism or socialism * Reds (January Uprising), a faction of the Polish insurrectionists during the January Uprising in 1863 * USSR (or, to a lesser extent, China) during th ...

. He mainly played as a backup winger for the Crusaders in the

2016 Super Rugby season The 2016 Super Rugby season was the 21st season of Super Rugby and the first season featuring an expanded 18-team format. It was also the first season that teams outside Australia, New Zealand and South Africa featured, with the Jaguares from Ar ...

behind Nemani Nadolo,

Johnny McNicholl Johnny McNicholl (born 24 September 1990) is a New Zealand born rugby union player who plays as a Winger or fullback for the Scarlets regional side in the Pro14 league and the Wales national team. Career McNicholl was a stand-out performer i ...

and

David Havili David Kaetau Havili (born 23 December 1994) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a fullback, centre or first five-eighth for in the Bunnings NPC and the in the Super Rugby competition. Early career Havili is of Pāk ...

but a few injuries in the backline to

Ryan Crotty Ryan Stevenson Crotty (born 23 September 1988) is a New Zealand-born rugby union footballer. He currently plays as a midfield back for the Kubota Spears in the Japanese Top League. Crotty played 48 tests for New Zealand's international team, t ...

and McNicholl saw him start a few games. He started against the Brumbies in Round 8 and scored a try set up by

Matt Todd Matthew Brendon Todd (born 24 March 1988) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer, who plays as an Openside Flanker for the Toshiba Brave Lupus in the Japanese Top League competition. Todd played 25 tests for New Zealand internationally, from ...

. In Round 10, he started on the left wing due to Nadolo being given a 4 week ban and scored three tries, two of which were set up by

Israel Dagg Israel Jamahl Akuhata Dagg (born 6 June 1988) is a former New Zealand rugby union player who played for the Crusaders in Super Rugby. He has also played for the New Zealand Sevens team, and represents Hawkes Bay in the ITM Cup. Dagg played in ...

and he also set up a try for Scott Barrett as well. He also charged down a conversion successfully of Red's flyhalf Jake McIntyre which is a rarity in rugby.

References

External links

*
Northland profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macilai-Tori, David Crusaders (rugby union) players Northland rugby union players 1990 births Living people Fijian rugby union players Rugby union wings Sportspeople from Suva I-Taukei Fijian people Blues (Super Rugby) players Munakata Sanix Blues players Moana Pasifika players