Josh Kaifa (born 21 July 1992) is a

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 ...

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, who currently plays as a loose forward for in New Zealand's domestic National Provincial Championship competition. He previously played as an injury replacement for in

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

and in the

United Rugby Championship The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

Early career

Kaifa hails from

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, where he attended

Onehunga High School Onehunga High School is a state co-educational secondary school in the Auckland suburb of Onehunga, New Zealand. The school incorporates a business school, founded by Just Water International's creator Tony Falkenstein, which is sponsored by bre ...

. He played for the school's 1st XV team alongside future and teammate

Stacey Ili Stacey Ili (born 11 May 1991 in New Zealand) is a Samoan rugby union player, who currently plays as a midfield back for in New Zealand's domestic National Provincial Championship competition and for the in Super Rugby. Early life Ili was a ...

. After leaving school, he moved to Australia where he played for

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

club Footscray in the

Dewar Shield The Dewar Shield is a rugby union competition in Melbourne. It is the professional and semi-professional premier grade for rugby in Victoria. A total of nine teams from the Victorian Rugby Union compete for the trophy. Local TV Channel 31 bro ...

competition. During that time, in 2012, he played for – and captained – the Victoria Under 20 team in an interstate tournament, including a 42–5 win over Queensland Country in the final. The following year, he moved to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

where he played two seasons for the

Parramatta Two Blues Western Sydney Two Blues Rugby, formerly Parramatta Two Blues Rugby, is a rugby union club based in Parramatta, the second CBD of Sydney, Australia. The club was formed in 1879 and competes in the Shute Shield run by the New South Wales Rugby ...

in the

Shute Shield The Shute Shield is a semi-professional rugby union competition in Sydney, Australia. It is the premier club competition in New South Wales. The Shute Shield is awarded to the winning team from the Sydney premiership grand final held at the end ...

competition. He made his debut for Parramatta on 6 April 2013 against

Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's six ...

and played a total of 36 games for the club. He returned to New Zealand in 2015, where he played for – and captained – Manukau Rovers in the Auckland club rugby competition. On 27 July 2015, Kaifa was named in the

B squad. At the end of the season, he was named the Auckland B player of the year. A year later, he was named the Auckland Club player of the year. Kaifa is the cousin of former

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

hooker

Tatafu Polota-Nau Sione 'Utukiveisini Tatafu Polota-Nau (born 26 July 1985) is an Australian rugby union player who recently played for Parramatta Two Blues in Australia's Shute Shield. He joined the club in December 2017. Family and early life Polota-Nau was bor ...

Senior career

Kaifa was named in the squad for the

2016 Mitre 10 Cup The 2016 Mitre 10 Cup season was the eleventh season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on August 18, when North Harbour hosted Counties Manukau. It involved the ...

season. He made his debut for the province, via the bench, against on 26 August 2016. He earned his first start for Auckland against on 25 September, that year. In 2017, Kaifa missed out on a spot in the Auckland's Mitre 10 Cup squad, but still made two appearances for the province as an injury replacement. In 2018, he moved to Hawke's Bay, where he played for Clive Rugby & Sports Club in the province's club rugby competition. On 8 August 2018, he was named in the squad for the

2018 Mitre 10 Cup The 2018 Mitre 10 Cup season was the thirteenth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on August 16, when North Harbour hosted Northland. It involved the top f ...

season. He made his first appearance and start for the province on 19 August 2018 against and scored a try on debut. Since that game, he's been a regular in the Hawke's Bay match day 23. Since his arrival in Hawke's Bay, Kaifa played several games for the Development team, but wasn't offered a

contract. However, he received a call-up to train with the during their preseason ahead of the

2022 Super Rugby Pacific season The 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season (known as Harvey Norman Super Rugby Pacific in Australia and DHL Super Rugby Pacific in New Zealand) is the 27th season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams fr ...

and played in the franchise's preseason game against the on 4 February 2022. Kaifa made his

debut on 19 March 2022 for against the , after coming into the squad in place of

Jack Lam Jack Tafa Lam (born 18 November 1987) is a New Zealand-born, Australian-raised rugby player who plays as a flanker for Moana Pasifika and internationally for Samoa. Lam played seven matches for Tasman in 2008 before moving north to Waikato in ...

. On 20 February 2024, announced that the club had signed Kaifa as an injury replacement until the end of the

2023–24 United Rugby Championship The 2023–24 United Rugby Championship is the 23rd season of the professional rugby union competition known as the United Rugby Championship, and the third season under that name. It began on 21 October 2023 and will end on 22 June 2024. The re ...

season. He made his debut for the club on 1 March 2024 in their round 11 game against and went on to play 4 games for the club.

International career

On 21 June 2024, Kaifawho is of Tongan descent and eligible to represent

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 ...

internationallywas named in the Tongan national team for a two-test series against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and the 2024 Pacific Nations Cup. He made his debut for Tonga on 12 July 2024 against Italy in

Nukuʻalofa Nukualofa (; ) is the capital and largest city of Tonga. It is located on the north coast of the island of Tongatapu, in the country's southernmost island group. History First western records of Nukualofa On 10 June 1777, British captain James ...

References

External links

NZ Rugby History profileAll Rugby profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaifa, Josh 1992 births Living people New Zealand sportspeople of Tongan descent People educated at Onehunga High School New Zealand rugby union players Rugby union players from Auckland New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in Italy Rugby union flankers Rugby union number eights Parramatta Two Blues players Auckland rugby union players Hawke's Bay rugby union players Moana Pasifika players Zebre Parma players Tonga international rugby union players