Siale Piutau (born 13 October 1985) is a New Zealand-born Tongan

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 ...

player who plays at

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 eccentri ...

. Although born and educated in

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 ...

, he represented

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 ...

internationally from 2011 to 2019. He is the elder brother of

player

Charles Piutau Salesi Tu'ipulotu "Charles" Piutau (born 31 October 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union player. He plays in the fullback (and occasionally wing) position for England club Bristol Bears in the Premiership, and formerly for New Zealand's national ...

. Piutau was selected as Tonga's captain for the

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...

and announced his retirement from international rugby, after a win against the USA.

Playing career

Provincial Rugby

Piutau joined Counties Manukau during 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 ...

. Lining up next to former

All Black 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, ...

Tana Umaga Jonathan Ionatana Falefasa Umaga (; ; born 27 May 1973) is a New Zealand former rugby union footballer and former captain of the national team, the All Blacks. Since 2016 he has been coach of the Blues in the Super Rugby competition. He play ...

in midfield, Piutau was in the

2010 ITM Cup The 2010 ITM Cup season was the fifth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on July 29, when Taranaki hosted Northland. It involved the top fourteen rugby unio ...

for the Steelers. He started every game for Counties, and was one of the club's top performers over the course of the season. As a reward for his efforts, he was named the 2010 Counties Manukau Player of the Year.

Super Rugby

Piutau was included in the Chiefs Wider Training Group for the

2010 Super 14 season The 2010 Super 14 season kicked off in February 2010 with pre-season matches held from mid-January. It finished on 29 May. The 2010 season was the fifth and last season of the expanded Super 14 format. The schedule, which covers 3½ months, feat ...

, and made his Super Rugby debut as a substitute late in the season after a rash of injuries hit the Chiefs backs. For the

2011 Super 15 season The 2011 Super Rugby season was the first season of the new 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition, which involved teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Including its past iterations as Super 12 and Super 14, this was the 16 ...

, Piutau was signed by the Highlanders and emerged as a key squad member, making 13 starts and scoring 3 tries. In

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, he was limited by injuries and made only 5 appearances. Following the season, he left New Zealand to sign in Japan.

Japan

For the 2012–13 season, Piutau signed with Yamaha Jubilo of 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.

English Rugby

Wasps He signed for

Wasps RFC Wasps Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union team. They last played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby until being suspended on 12 October 2022. On 17 October 2022 the club entered administration, resulting in r ...

on 4 February 2016 for the remainder of the 2015/2016 season. He made his debut in the 64–23 victory over Saracens F.C. on 14 February 2016. After returning from his loan spell at Wasps, Piutau returned to Japan, and Yamaha Jubilo. Bristol Piutau signed for

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

in the Greene King IPA Championship, initially on a short-term deal, which was later extended to a permanent contract, in December 2016. Piutau became a regular starter at Centre and was known for his on and off field leadership. He played 66 times for Bristol and was present for the Bears' promotion to the Premiership in 2018 and in the successful

European Challenge cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...

campaign in 2020. Piutau announced that he will leave Bristol at the conclusion of the 2020/2021 season.

Return to Japan

On 7 June 2021, Piutau left Bristol in England at the end of the 2020-21 season, as he returned to Japan to sign for Shimizu Koto Blue Sharks in the Japan Rugby League One competition.

International career

Piutau has 43 international caps for Tonga and this includes 19 as captain. His first cap was in the 2011 27-12 defeat against Fiji where he made his debut off the bench. His final game for Tonga was in the 31-19 victory in the

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

pool C match against

the USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in which Piutau scored a try and a later conversion. His final figures in his international career were 6 tries, 1 conversion totalling 32 points.

References

External links

Counties Manukau profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Piutau, Siale Living people New Zealand rugby union players Highlanders (rugby union) players 1985 births Tonga international rugby union players Chiefs (rugby union) players Counties Manukau rugby union players Shizuoka Blue Revs players New Zealand expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in Japan Expatriate rugby union players in England New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Japan New Zealand sportspeople of Tongan descent Rugby union players from Auckland Wasps RFC players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England Bristol Bears players Shimizu Koto Blue Sharks players Rugby union centres