Niva Ta'auso is a former Samoan-born 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 its m ...

player. His position was

Centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

. He notably played for Counties-Manukau in the National Provincial Championship as well as for

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

in the

Pro12 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 ...

. He last played for the Pukekohe club where he made his 100th appearance in 2015. Ta'auso debuted for the Chiefs in the

Super 14 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 ...

in 2005 against the Sharks. In three seasons Ta'auso had played 16 matches and scored 25 points. In 2008 he was drafted into the Highlanders squad. Ta'auso played for Counties-Manukau in the National Provincial Championship. He debuted against Argentina in 2001 and returned there in 2011 after departing Connacht.

New Zealand Representative Teams

*New Zealand Divisional XV – 2004 *Junior All Blacks – 2006

Connacht

announced on their official website on 14 July 2008 that they signed Ta'auso for the Celtic League season 2008–09. He remained there until the end of the 2010–2011 season.

References

Living people New Zealand rugby union players Connacht Rugby players Chiefs (rugby union) players Highlanders (rugby union) players Counties Manukau rugby union players New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent Sportspeople from Apia 1980 births New Zealand expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in Sri Lanka Expatriate rugby union players in Ireland New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Sri Lanka New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Ireland Rugby union centres {{Samoa-rugbyunion-bio-stub