Krisnan Nevada Inu (born 17 March 1987) is a professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

footballer who plays as a or er for the Leigh Centurions in the RFL Championship. He has played for both

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 ...

and

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

at international level. On 24 February 2022, it was announced that Inu had signed with immediate effect for

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...

in the

Betfred Championship The Championship, known as the Betfred Championship for sponsorship reasons, is a professional rugby league competition. It is the second-tier competition organised by the Rugby Football League, the governing body for the sport in England, ...

. He has previously played the

Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and their ...

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilit ...

and the

New Zealand Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...

in the NRL, and the

Catalans Dragons The Catalans Dragons (French: ''Dragons Catalans'', Catalan: ''Dracs Catalans'') are a professional rugby league club from Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales department, France. The team competes in the Super League and are the only team from outs ...

and the

Widnes Vikings The Widnes Vikings are an English rugby league club in Widnes, Cheshire, which competes in the Betfred Championship. The club plays home matches at the Halton Stadium. Founded as Widnes Football Club, they are one of the original twenty-two r ...

in the Super League. Inu is one of two players who have lost grand finals with three clubs. He was a member of the 2008 World Cup-winning New Zealand squad. Inu has also played

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 ...

for Stade Français of the

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 ...

competition in France.

Background

Inu was born in

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 ...

, New Zealand and is of Samoan and

Tuvalu Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-nor ...

descent.

Playing career

Parramatta Eels

junior, Inu made his first grade debut in the

2007 NRL season The 2007 NRL season was the one hundredth season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the tenth run by the National Rugby League. Sixteen teams contested the NRL's 2007 Telstra Premiership, and with the inclusio ...

against the

Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby ...

. After just one first grade match he was named to play for

in the ANZAC Day Test against Australia at

Suncorp Stadium Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

. The Kangaroos ran out easy 30-6 winners over the Kiwis. After the test, Inu was dropped back to Premier League but returned to first grade through a series of injuries to regular players. Inu took on the kicking duties as Parramatta's primary kicker and full-back,

Luke Burt Luke Kevin Burt (born 6 June 1981) is a professional rugby league coach who was the interim co-coach of the Gold Coast Titans in the NRL, and an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. Burt and Craig Hodges were replaced by Jus ...

, was injured mid-season. In round 25 Inu scored three tries and kicked seven goals in Parramatta's 46-point win over Brisbane. Inu played in Parramatta's 2007 preliminary final defeat by

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 ...

Docklands Stadium Docklands Stadium, also currently known by naming rights sponsorship as Marvel Stadium, is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the Docklands area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Construction started in October 1997 and was ...

. In August 2008, Inu was named in the New Zealand training squad for the

2008 Rugby League World Cup The 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup since its inauguration in 1954, and the first since the 2000 tournament. The tournament was held in Australia from 26 October, culminating in the final ...

, and in October 2008, he was named in the final 24-man

Kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), a nickname for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible berry * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of currency Kiwi or KIWI may also ref ...

squad that went on to win the tournament, playing one game in their win against

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. After a 2-4 start to the 2009 season, Parramatta decided to re-tool their line-up, dropping Inu to the

New South Wales Cup The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserv ...

, with

Taulima Tautai Taulima Tautai born 3 April 1988 is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer, who has most recently played as a for the Wigan Warriors in the Super League. He previously played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Parramatta Ee ...

replacing him for the round 7 match against the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite c ...

. Inu played in the

2009 NRL Grand Final The 2009 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the NRL's 2009 Telstra Premiership season. Played on 4 October 2009 at Sydney's ANZ Stadium was contested between the Parramatta Eels and the Melbourne Storm, the latte ...

for Parramatta against the

Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm are a rugby league club based in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia that participates in the National Rugby League. The first fully professional rugby league team based in the state, the Storm entered the competition in 1998. ...

at centre. At the end of the 2010 season, Inu told coach Daniel Anderson that he would be joining The

on a two year deal.

New Zealand Warriors

Inu played in New Zealand's 2011 NRL grand final loss to The

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...

. Inu's up-and-down tenure at the Warriors was curtailed in May 2012 with his release and immediate signing with the

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs

Inu was released by the Warriors in May 2012 so he could immediately join the

Des Hasler Desmond John Hasler (born 16 February 1961) is an Australian professional rugby league coach, and a former professional rugby league footballer who played as and . He initially played for the Penrith Panthers, and then spent most of his playi ...

coached Canterbury side. Krisnan Inu

He signed with the Canterbury outfit until the end of the 2015 season. Inu played in the

2012 NRL Grand Final The 2012 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2012 NRL season. Played on Sunday, 30 September at Sydney's ANZ Stadium between the minor premiers Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and the second-placed Melbourne Sto ...

for Canterbury which they lost 14-4 against

Catalans Dragons

Inu returned to rugby league and was signed by

in June 2015 to add depth to a depleted squad. On 17 November 2017, Inu signed a two year deal to join The

Widnes Vikings

On 4 April 2018, Inu broke his leg in a match against

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

. Before the injury, Inu had scored six tries in nine games.

Salford Red Devils

On 27 March 2019, it was announced on the Salford Red Devils official website that Inu, signed a contract with immediate effect. He joined the Super League club on a deal that would see him return to the Super League after previous stints with the

, and

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form th ...

. Inu played in the 2019 Super League Grand Final defeat by St. Helens at Old Trafford. On 17 October 2020, Inu played in the 2020 Challenge Cup Final defeat for Salford against Leeds at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

FC Lézignan XIII

On 28 October 2021, it was reported that he had signed for

FC Lézignan XIII Football Club de Lézignan (often referred to as the Lézignan Sangliers) are a semi-professional rugby league, rugby league football club based in Lézignan-Corbières in the Departments of France, départment of Aude in the south of France. The ...

in the

Elite One Championship Elite 1 is the top level rugby league competition in France, sanctioned by the French Rugby League Federation. The season runs from September to April, which is in contrast to the majority of other major domestic rugby league competitions wor ...

Leigh

In February 2022, Inu signed a one-year deal with

in the RFL Championship. On 28 May 2022, Inu played for Leigh in their

2022 RFL 1895 Cup The 2022 RFL 1895 Cup, known as the 2022 AB Sundecks 1895 Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the third playing of the RFL 1895 Cup, a rugby league football competition for clubs in the United Kingdom. The competition for clubs who play below the top ...

final victory over

Featherstone Featherstone is a town and civil parish in the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, two miles south-west of Pontefract. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, in 2011 it had a population of 15,244. Featherstone railway stat ...

. On 3 July, Inu scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

and kicked eight goals in Leigh's 56-6 victory over Bradford. On 10 July, Inu successfully kicked all eleven conversion attempts in Leigh's 66-10 victory over

Workington Town Workington Town R.L.F.C. is a semi-professional rugby league club playing in Workington in west Cumbria. Their stadium is Derwent Park, which they share with Workington Comets, a speedway team. They became Rugby League Champions in 1951 and ...

Goal kicking style

Inu is known for smiling and laughing before attempting a conversion at goal. This was first revealed during the

. It later became his trademark and some media Sydney media outlets dubbed him "The Smiling assassin". Inu explained his reason behind this saying "It started at training, Every time I practised kicking, the first thing I'd try to do is kick from the sideline and everyone would start bagging me out and I would start laughing. It's the same when the crowd starts booing. I just start smiling and laughing. If they are going to boo me I might as well laugh about it and if I get it over it just shows them up so I can laugh even more".

References

External links

Salford Red Devils profileCatalans Dragons profileParramatta Eels profileSL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Inu, Krisnan 1987 births Living people Auckland rugby league team players Cabramatta Two Blues players Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs players Catalans Dragons players Expatriate rugby league players in Australia Leigh Centurions players Lézignan Sangliers players New Zealand expatriate rugby league players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Australia New Zealand Latter Day Saints New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand people of Indian descent New Zealand people of Tuvaluan descent New Zealand people of Samoan descent New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand Warriors players Parramatta Eels players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Auckland Rugby league wingers Rugby union players from Auckland Samoa national rugby league team players Stade Français players Wentworthville Magpies players