Sione Fifita (born 17 April 1990) is a 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 its m ...

player who currently plays as a

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 ...

for in New Zealand's domestic

Mitre 10 Cup The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in t ...

Early career

Somewhat of a late developer professionally, Tongan-born Fifita came to New Zealand in his teens and represented Counties Manukau at Under-20 level before having a sensational year playing for their B side in 2014 netting 14 tries in 6 games which unsurprisingly saw him named as their player of the year. While working his way through the Steelers development structures, he also turned out for Pukekohe in Counties Manukau club rugby.

Senior career

Fifita first made the Counties Manukau senior squad at the age of 25 in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

. He scored 2 tries in 9 appearances in a solid debut season at provincial level which saw the Steelers finish in 5th position on the ITM Cup Premiership log, just outside of the play off places. He was again a regular in the Counties side in

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, helping himself to 3 tries in 8 games as they reached the Mitre 10 Cup semi-finals before falling to eventual tournament winners, .

Super Rugby

Strong performances during his first year in provincial rugby with Counties Manukau saw him named in the squad for the

2016 Super Rugby season The 2016 Super Rugby season was the 21st season of Super Rugby and the first season featuring an expanded 18-team format. It was also the first season that teams outside Australia, New Zealand and South Africa featured, with the Jaguares from Ar ...

. Being an inexperienced member of a squad packed with

All Blacks 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 ...

it was perhaps no surprise that Fifita didn't see any game time during his first year in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, however, he was retained in the squad for the 2017 season.

Super Rugby Statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fifita, Sione 1990 births Living people Tongan rugby union players Rugby union wings Counties Manukau rugby union players Crusaders (rugby union) players Tongan emigrants to New Zealand Tonga international rugby union players