Nephi Tupou Leatigaga (born 5 December 1993) is a Samoan rugby union

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, distinct ...

for

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...

in England's Premiership Rugby, the top tier. He has previously played for Biarritz Olympique in France's

Pro D2 Rugby Pro D2, also known as Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was in ...

and for Piacenza in Italy. He has played five internationals for in 2016 and 2017.

Career

Leatigaga was born in Samoa; he first played for

Mt Wellington RFC Mt Wellington Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in Auckland, New Zealand. At senior level, the club fields four teams - Premier, Reserves, U-21 and U-19 - through a joint venture with Te Papapa Onehunga. External linksClub websit ...

and

Auckland Rugby Union The Auckland Rugby Union is a New Zealand provincial rugby union. The union was established in 1883 and was originally responsible for the administration of the sport in most of the former Auckland Province, although its boundaries have since ...

in New Zealand. After impressing for Samoa 'A' he was called up for 's November 2016 touring squad. He made his international debut on 25 November 2016 against in a 25-23 win at the Stade des Alpes in Grenoble, France. On 18 January 2017 he joined

Rugby Lyons Piacenza Rugby Lyons Piacenza is an Italian rugby union club currently competing in Top12. It is based in Piacenza in Emilia Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emil ...

in Italy's Super 10 On 15 June 2017 his signature was announced by Biarritz Olympique. After a season in France his signature for Leicester was widely reported in the French media in July 2018, which prompted Biarritz to release a statement claiming his agent was unregistered which the agent denied, saying he was registered with the

RFU The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby (WR) in 1886. It pro ...

allowing him to sign the player to an English club. His signing for the 2019-20 season was confirmed by

on 6 May 2019. Leatigaga played as a replacement in the 2022 Premiership Rugby final as Tigers beat

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

15-12.

References

Samoan rugby union players 1993 births Living people Biarritz Olympique players Rugby union props Leicester Tigers players Samoa international rugby union players {{Samoa-rugbyunion-bio-stub