Tevita Li (born 23 March 1995) 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 it ...

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 e ...

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 ...

and the in the international Super Rugby competition.

Early career

Born and raised in Auckland, New Zealand, Li was educated at

Massey High School Massey High School is a co-educational state secondary school in West Auckland, New Zealand established in 1969. The school is located on the western edge of the city, thus obtaining students from both suburban and rural backgrounds. In 2017 it w ...

in his home town where he played first XV rugby.

Senior career

Li made his senior debut for during the

2013 ITM Cup Thirteen or 13 may refer to: * 13 (number), the natural number following 12 and preceding 14 * One of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, 2013 Music * 13AD (band), an Indian classic and hard rock band Albums * ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013 * ...

while aged just 18 years old and still a high school student. He managed 1 try in 4 games in his first season of provincial rugby and was subsequently promoted to the full squad for

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. His second season saw him feature in all 10 of Harbour's championship matches and score 3 tries as the men from Auckland's North Shore finished in 5th place on the log, just missing out on the promotion playoffs. He started every game in 2015 and helped himself to 4 tries as Harbour once again came agonisingly close to securing a playoff berth, only to fall just short and end up in 5th spot. However, there was to be no such heartache in 2016 Mitre 10 Cup as Harbour finished in 3rd place in the regular season standings before seeing off the more fancied and in the playoffs to earn promotion to the 2017 Mitre 10 Cup Premiership. Li was again an ever-present, starting all 12 of Harbour's games during the year as well as bagging a career high 7 season tries including the opening try in the epic 40-37 semi-final victory away to Wellington.

Super Rugby

Li's swift rise from high school prodigy to the upper echelons of the rugby world continued apace in 2014 when Auckland-based Super Rugby franchise, the included him in their wider training group for the 2014 Super Rugby season. After Some impressive outings in pre-season, he was named on the bench for the opening game away to the and came on for his Super Rugby debut as a second-half substitute in a 21-29 loss for his side. He went on to score 3 tries in 8 matches in his first season of Super Rugby, at the age of 19. 2015 saw a little stagnation in his progress, featuring 7 times and failing to cross the try line once as the Blues endured a horror season, winning just 3 of 16 games to finish in 14th spot on the overall log. Prior to the start of the 2016 Super Rugby season

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 ...

replaced Sir John Kirwan as Blues head coach and this brought about an upturn in fortunes both for the franchise and for Li personally. The Blues finished in a more respectable 11th place, still well away from the playoff spots, while Li started all 15 of their regular season games and scored 4 tries in what would prove to be his final season in Auckland. In June 2016, it was announced that Li had signed a 1-year deal with 2015 Super Rugby champions, the , that would see him move to

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 ...

for

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International

Li was a New Zealand Schools representative in 2012 and was also a member of the New Zealand Under-20 sides which competed in the

2014 IRB Junior World Championship The 2014 IRB Junior World Championship was the seventh annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. The event was organised in Auckland, New Zealand by rugby's governing body, World Rugby, then known as the Internation ...

and

2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship The 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship was the eighth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. The event was organised for the second time in Italy by rugby's governing body, World Rugby. Twelve nations played i ...

. He scored 7 tries in 5 games in 2014 to help New Zealand to 3rd place in their home tournament and followed that up with 6 tries in 5 games in Italy the following year including a hat-trick against France which made him the highest try-scorer in tournament history. Li's tries also helped New Zealand to lift the World Under-20 Championship title for the first time since 2011 as they progressed through the tournament unbeaten and defeated England 21-16 in the final in Cremona.

Career honours

New Zealand Under-20 *

World Rugby Under 20 Championship The World Rugby Under 20 Championship (known as the IRB Junior World Championship until 2014) is an international rugby union competition. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, World Rugby, and is contested by 12 men's junior nat ...

- 2015 North Harbour * Mitre 10 Cup Championship -

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

Super Rugby statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Tevita 1995 births New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand sportspeople of Tongan descent Rugby union wings North Harbour rugby union players Blues (Super Rugby) players Rugby union players from Auckland People educated at Massey High School Living people Highlanders (rugby union) players Tokyo Sungoliath players