Steve Luatua (born 29 April 1991) is a

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 ...

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 regular playing position is either as a lock or a loose forward. He plays for the

Bristol Bears Bristol Bears (officially Bristol Rugby Club or Bristol Rugby) are a professional rugby union club based in Bristol, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded as Bristol Football Club in 18 ...

in the

English Premiership The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

. Luatua was a member of the

New Zealand under 20 team New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

which won the

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

and 2011 IRB Junior World Championship. After a strong start to the 2013 Super Rugby season, Luatua was named in the initial All Blacks wider training squad. He made his All Blacks debut coming from the bench in the 24–9 victory versus France in New Plymouth on 22 June 2013. He was selected for the All Blacks 2013 The Rugby Championship squad and played his first full test in the 47–29 win against Australia, in Sydney, on 17 August 2013. On 23 August 2014, he scored his first international test try against Australia coming from the bench by a pass from the prop

Charlie Faumuina Charles Faumuina (born 24 December 1986) is a rugby union player who plays prop, for in Top 14 in France and formerly for internationally. He was a key member of the 2015 Rugby World Cup winning team. He currently plays international rugby ...

leading to a win, 51–20. After many struggled with keeping form and having injuries, Luatua was re-selected for New Zealand after two years' absence for the All Blacks' end-of-year tour in 2016. Luatua started as number 8 against Italy, scoring a try, New Zealand winning the match 68–10. In February 2017,

side

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 ...

announced Luatua would be joining them for the 2017–18 season. Luatua served a 5-week suspension after being red carded for a high tackle on Tim Nanai-Williams from the Chiefs when Williams wasn't in possession of the ball. For the rest of the 2017 Super Rugby campaign Luatua was excellent, providing a game-winning offload to Sonny Bill Williams who subsequently offloaded to Ihaia West so that West could score against the British and Irish Lions. The Blues won 22–16. The following day however, Luatua was not selected for the All Blacks, meaning the Blues' 22–16 win against the Lions would be his last match at Eden Park. Luatua lineout

Outside rugby

Luatua is an avid

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

fan. He covered the NFL playoffs in

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for Duke TV.

References

External links

*
Blues player profile

Auckland player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luatua, Steve 1991 births New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand people of Samoan descent New Zealand international rugby union players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England Rugby union locks Rugby union flankers Blues (Super Rugby) players Auckland rugby union players Bristol Bears players Rugby union players from Auckland People educated at Mount Albert Grammar School Living people Barbarian F.C. players