Roy Kinikinilau (born 14 February 1980) is a

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 who plays for the

Ricoh Black Rams Black Rams Tokyo (formerly Ricoh Black Rams) is a Japanese rugby union team in the Japan Rugby League One. Placed 10th in the 2004-2005 season which meant it had to win a play-off against one of the top regional teams to stay in the league, as it d ...

in the

Top League Japan Rugby League One (formerly the Top League) is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by absorbing the ...

in Japan. A powerful winger, Kinkinilau is also an accomplished rugby sevens player. Born in

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

, he represented

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 ...

internationally in rugby sevens competitions.

Playing career

Provincial Rugby

Kinkinilau was born in Tonga but came to New Zealand at age 6. He made his provincial debut 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 me ...

in 2002 at number eight but due to his pace and athleticism was converted to a wing the following season. Kinkinilau spent four seasons at Wellington before transferring to

Waikato Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, 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, New Zealand, Hamilton City ...

for the

2006 Air New Zealand Cup The 2006 Air New Zealand Cup was the inaugural season of the Air New Zealand Cup, contested by teams from New Zealand. The season ran from July to October 2006. At the end of the regular season, the top team from ''Repechage A'' and ''B'' joine ...

. Although he helped Waikato to a championship-winning campaign, he didn't play in the finals against his old team, Wellington. Following the

2007 Air New Zealand Cup The 2007 Air New Zealand Cup was a provincial rugby union competition involving 14 teams from New Zealand. Matches started on Thursday 26 July 2007, and the Final, in which Auckland defeated Wellington, was held on Saturday 20 October. This s ...

, he signed in Japan.

Super Rugby

Despite an admirable try-scoring record, Kinikinilau never really found a settled place in the

Super Rugby 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 ...

competition. He made his debut 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 the

2004 Super 12 season The 2004 Super 12 season was the ninth season of the Super 12, contested by teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The season ran from February to May 2004, with each team playing all the others once. At the end of the regular season ...

, and impressively scored 5 tries in only 9 appearances. However, he was not included in the side for the 2005 season. For

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, Kinikinilau was drafted to the Highlanders. He started the season with a bang, with 4 tries from his first 4 starts, but came off the boil as the season went along, ending the year on the substitute's bench. He did, however, lead the side with 5 tries. Kinikinilau was on the move again for the

2007 Super 14 season The 2007 Super 14 season started in February 2007 with preseason matches held from mid-January. It finished on 19 May with the final at ABSA Stadium in Durban, in the first final between two South African teams in the history of Super Rugby. The ...

, this time drafted to the Chiefs. He started 12 of the team's 13 games and scored another four tries.

Japan

Kinikinilau left New Zealand in 2007 to sign in Japan with the

. He has remained with the team through 2010-11, where he scored 5 tries in 9 appearances.

Rugby Sevens

Kinikinilau was a dynamic rugby sevens player who exploded onto the international scene in style, scoring 37 tries in 7 competitions in 2002 and 2003. He continued as an elite sevens player through 2007, when he helped New Zealand win the 2006-07 IRB Sevens World Series.

References

External links

Hurricanes Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinikinilau, Roy Tongan rugby union players 1980 births Living people New Zealand rugby union players Rugby union wings Tongan emigrants to New Zealand Chiefs (rugby union) players Hurricanes (rugby union) players Highlanders (rugby union) players Wellington rugby union players Waikato rugby union players New Zealand expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in Japan New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Japan Black Rams Tokyo players