Ryan Tongia (born 31 May 1990, in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

) is a professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

and

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 ...

footballer. He is currently based out of Hawke’s bay in New Zealand. Tongia is of Papua New Guinean, Chinese and German descent, but was born and raised in Australia. His position is right or left wing, or fullback. He is a

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

rugby league international. Tongia was not an age grade star growing up, but through hard work and determination he worked his way to the pros. He got his first real taste of professional rugby league at the Cronulla Sharks RLbefore moving to Wakefield Trinity in the uper League Tongia changed to Rugby Union in 2013. He played for the Otago Highlanders in New Zealand in 2015 and 2016. He has also played for Hawke’s Bay and Southland in the NPC (New Zealand Provincial Competition) known as Mitre 10 cup previously. (rugby union), Tongia also spent time in Europe playing for Avignon Bayonne (rugby union) SUA (rugby union) in French Top 14 & Pro-D2 respectively. He now runs a business 45 Hastings NZcoaching health and fitness, Helping hundreds of people become fitter, healthier and happier versions of themselves.

Playing career

During his time playing

for the Gold Coast Titans, Tongia did not play first grade but played in the Toyota Cup. He played two matches for

in the

2010 Rugby League Four Nations The 2010 Rugby League Four Nations tournament was played in Australia and New Zealand in October and November 2010. The tournament was the second time the Four Nations had been held, following on from the 2009 edition held in England and France. ...

. Tongia also played for the

Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Super League. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, between 1999 and 2016 the c ...

in 2011.

2014–16

Being unsuccessful on securing an

NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

contract, Tongia made the decision to switch to

in late 2013. He took part in the Noosa International Sevens tournament at the end of 2013, impressing enough people to be invited to the

Australian sevens The Australia Sevens is an international rugby sevens tournament that was first played in 1986. Currently hosted as the Sydney Sevens, the event is part of the World Rugby Sevens Series. The tournament was held in Brisbane, in Adelaide, and o ...

training camp. He then moved to New Zealand, in July 2014, it was announced that Tongia had signed a one-season contract with Hawke's Bay for 2014 after impressing at club rugby level. He became a key member and a star performer in their

ITM Cup ITM may stand for: Education * ITM Global School, an English medium co-educational day school in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India * ITM Law School, one of the professional graduate schools of ITM University * ITM-IFM, Mumbai, India * Institut Tekn ...

campaign, winning the

Ranfurly Shield The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Shield is based on a challenge system. The holding union must defend the shield in challeng ...

and making the Championship final. He also was the competition's leading overall top try-scorer, scoring 10 tries. It saw Tongia achieve a

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 ...

contract, after signing with

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

-based franchise the Highlanders for two years as a member of their wider training group. Tongia was cited for foul play during a trial match for the Highlanders prior to the

2015 Super Rugby season The 2015 Super Rugby season was the 20th season of Super Rugby and the fifth season featuring an expanded 15-team format. For sponsorship reasons, this competition was known as Asteron Life Super Rugby in Australia, Investec Super Rugby in New ...

. He was alleged for dangerous tackling when he tackled

Robbie Coleman Robert "Robbie" Coleman (born 3 August 1990) is an Australian rugby union player who plays for the NOLA Gold in Major League Rugby (MLR). Coleman left the Brumbies after being granted a release at the end of the 2016 Super Rugby season. His p ...

in the air against the Brumbies in January. The referee for the match,

Matt O'Brien Matt O'Brien (born 22 July 1981) is a New Zealand-born Australian professional rugby union referee. He has officiated on the IRB Sevens World Series circuit since 2011 and was appointed to the Super Rugby referees panel for 2014 and 2015. ...

, issued a red card for the incident which occurred in the 59th minute. Tongia was cleared of foul play, the red card was later removed from his record and would face no further punishment after it was revealed it was an incorrect call. He made his Super Rugby debut in the

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

position against the Cheetahs. He scored twice within 18 minutes of kick-off after a 45–24 victory.

2017–19

After a brief stint for the

Agen The communes of France, commune of Agen (, ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne Departments of France, department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. ...

club in France to play Pro14 rugby, Tongia joined Southland.

2021

On 23 October 2021, Tongia debuted for in the National Provincial Championship at fullback in their unsuccessful

challenge against at McLean Park, Napier.

References

External links

New Guinea Profile at rlfournations.comLeeds Rhinos 64-20 Wakefield Trinity WildcatsWakefield Trinity Wildcats 26-14 Bradford BullsSuper League 2012: Dave Woods' pre-season verdictPNG star Ryan Tongia set to light up Cronulla Sharks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tongia, Ryan 1990 births Australian expatriate rugby league players Australian expatriate rugby union players Australian expatriate sportspeople in England Australian expatriate sportspeople in France Australian expatriate sportspeople in New Zealand Australian people of Chinese descent Australian people of German descent Australian people of Papua New Guinean descent Australian rugby league players Aviron Bayonnais players Expatriate rugby league players in England Expatriate rugby union players in France Expatriate rugby union players in New Zealand Hawke's Bay rugby union players Highlanders (rugby union) players Living people Papua New Guinea national rugby league team players Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league wingers Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union wings Rugby union players from Brisbane Rugby league players from Brisbane Wakefield Trinity players Australian rugby union players SU Agen Lot-et-Garonne players Southland rugby union players Waikato rugby union players Rugby union centres