Liam Justin Messam (born 25 March 1984) 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 it ...
player who plays
TOP14
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 ...
for
RC Toulonnais
Rugby Club Toulonnais (), also known as RCT but usually Toulon; oc, Rugbi Club Tolonenc) is a French professional rugby union club based in Toulon in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. A current participant in the first-tier Top 14 competition, they ...
. In
Super Rugby, he previously played for the , and for
Waikato
Waikato () is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsul ...
in the
ITM Cup. Messam predominantly plays as a
blindside flanker but can fill in at
Number 8 as well as
openside flanker. After the retirement of then Chiefs captain
Mils Muliaina
Junior Malili "Mils" Muliaina (born 31 July 1980) is a former professional rugby union player who most recently played for San Francisco Rush in the US PRO Rugby competition. He played primarily as a fullback, though he has also played as a ...
, Messam was named the team's new co-captain from
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
onwards, alongside
Aaron Cruden
Aaron Wiremu Cruden (born 8 January 1989) is a New Zealand rugby union player, who plays for Chiefs and formerly Montpellier, Manawatu and New Zealand internationally. Cruden's usual position is first five-eighth (fly half).
Early life
Crud ...
.
National team
In October 2008, Messam was selected in
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 ...
's end of year tour squad to tour Hong Kong and Europe. He played one test against
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
and one match against
Munster. He subsequently appeared several more times for New Zealand but was dropped a month out of the
2011 Rugby World Cup in favour of
Victor Vito. Since his debut in 2008 he won 40 test caps for the All Blacks.
In 2004, at the age of just 20, he captained the
New Zealand sevens team to its fifth IRB Sevens World Series title and in 2005 led the team to the final. Messam also played in the New Zealand sevens teams that won gold at the
2006 Commonwealth Games and
2010 Commonwealth Games
The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, ...
. In 2004 he was also named New Zealand Sevens Player of the Year.
Maori
Of
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
descent, Messam affiliates to the
Ngāi Tūhoe
Ngāi Tūhoe (), often known simply as Tūhoe, is a Māori iwi of New Zealand. It takes its name from an ancestral figure, Tūhoe-pōtiki. ''Tūhoe'' is a Māori-language word meaning "steep" or "high noon". Tūhoe people also bear the sobriquet ...
iwi
Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, ...
. Messam has stated that he also has
Samoan and
Scottish heritage. He has played for the
New Zealand Maori, including during the
2006 Churchill Cup and the 2010 centenary series, where he captained the side. In 2012 and 2013 Messam was awarded the
Tom French Cup
In rugby union, the Tom French Cup is an honour awarded by New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) to the Tom French Memorial Māori player of the year. The cup has been awarded annually since 1949, when it was donated to the New Zealand Māori coach To ...
as Māori Player of the Year.
On 31 January 2015, Messam fought on the undercard of close friend
Sonny Bill Williams' boxing bout.
2015–present
Messam was selected for the 2015 Rugby World Cup as part of the All Blacks' 31-man squad. After the tournament was finished, Messam announced his intention to compete in rugby sevens for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Messam was later named in the All Black Sevens' squad for the Wellington Sevens alongside All Blacks teammate Sonny Bill Williams.
After the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics, Liam Messam did play for the Chiefs in 2016 Super Rugby competition, when injuries greatly affected the loose forwards positions
.
Throughout his professional athlete career Liam developed a preference for natural alternative health options to relieve both physical pain and mental challenges high-profile athletes experience. After witnessing the detrimental effect conventional pain relief and mental health medication has on close friends and family, Liam founde
Ora CBDalongside
Teddy Stanaway in 2020.
Professional boxing career
Messam made his professional boxing debut in January 2015 against Rhys Sullivan on a Sonny Bill Williams undercard. Messam won the fight by Unanimous Decision. Messam will return to the ring six years later to fight in a professional fight for charity to raise funds for Tauranga 8-year-old Antonio Pohatu-Barbarich who is being treated for brain cancer. Messam took on Joe Ageli in his return fight in April 2021, winning by unanimous decision. Since returning to professional boxing, he has started training with Hit Fitness HQ under retired professional boxing, Cairo George. In the same camp is Olympic Bronze medalist
David Nyika. Messam will return one year later in New Plymouth, taking on Thomas Russell. Messam won his third professional fight by unanimous decision. After one corporate fight for a charity fight night under Fight for Life, Messam will return to the professional ring in July 2022 against Tussi Asafo. Messam will win get his first win by stoppage. In December, Messam will finish his busy 2022 boxing year by taking on Mathew Matich. Messam won the fight by Unanimous Decision.
Record
Personal life
Liam Messam's brother,
Sam Messam, played in the 2008 All Whites side at the 2008 London Olympics.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Messam, Liam
1984 births
New Zealand rugby union players
New Zealand Māori rugby union players
Māori All Blacks players
New Zealand international rugby union players
Chiefs (rugby union) players
Waikato rugby union players
Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand
Rugby sevens players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
New Zealand male rugby sevens players
Rugby union flankers
Rugby union number eights
Rugby union players from Blenheim, New Zealand
People educated at Rotorua Boys' High School
Living people
New Zealand international rugby sevens players
Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo players
New Zealand expatriate rugby union players
New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Japan
Expatriate rugby union players in Japan
Commonwealth Games rugby sevens players of New Zealand
Rugby sevens players at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
Ngāi Tūhoe people
Commonwealth Games medallists in rugby sevens
RC Toulonnais players