Neemia Stanley Tialata (born 15 July 1982 in Lower Hutt, New Zealand) 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 ...

footballer. He currently plays for Stade Toulousain in 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 ...

. As well as representing New Zealand from 2005 - 2010, he also played for 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 Super Rugby and for

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

in the ITM/Air New Zealand Cup when available.

Early life

Tialata was born in Lower Hutt but moved, when he was one, to

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internationa ...

with his parents who were undergoing religious training in Kanana Fou Theological Seminary. The family returned to their vocation in New Zealand when Tialata was five with his late mother Sipoutasi, late father Rev. Pelema and sisters. He was the only boy and was the third child out of the four. His father died after a year of serving at the CCCAS church in Porirua, New Zealand followed by his mother four years after. Tialata and his three sisters now reside with his aunt whom he now calls his mother (Nu'ulopa) and her five children whom Tialata also now considers his brothers and sisters.

Career

Tialata debuted for Wellington in 2003 and was selected for the Hurricanes in 2004. Tialata thrust himself into 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, ...

selection frame as a young

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...

with his strong play throughout the 2005 season and made his

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

debut in the first match of the All Blacks

Home Nations Home Nations is a collective term with one of two meanings depending on context. Politically it means the nations of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales). In sport, if a sport is g ...

tour – against Wales – in November that year. He was dropped from the 2010 Tri Nations squad due to poor form. In 2011, after 8 seasons with the

, he signed with

side

Aviron Bayonnais Aviron Bayonnais ( eu, Baionako Arrauna), commonly called Bayonne, is a French rugby union club from Bayonne (''Baiona'', in Basque) in Pyrénées-Atlantiques which, for the 2016-17 season, competed in the top tier of the French league system, ...

. Formerly a loosehead prop, Tialata now concentrates his efforts on the tighthead side of the scrum but retains the valuable ability to cover both sides

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tialata, Neemia 1982 births New Zealand Christians New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent New Zealand international rugby union players People educated at Wellington College (New Zealand) Living people New Zealand rugby union players Rugby union players from Lower Hutt Rugby union props Wainuiomata Lions players Wellington rugby union players Hurricanes (rugby union) players Aviron Bayonnais players Stade Toulousain players New Zealand expatriate rugby union players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate rugby union players in France People educated at Wainuiomata High School