Zebastian Lucky Luisi (born 22 December 1984), also known by the

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

s of "Lucky", "Zeb", "Zebba", is a New Zealand

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 ...

footballer who has competed in the Auckland Rugby League competition, his most recent club being the Howick Hornets. He has also represented the

Otahuhu Leopards The Otahuhu Leopards are a rugby league club based in Otahuhu, Auckland. Founded in 1911 Auckland Rugby League season, 1911, the club has produced 49 New Zealand national rugby league team players. The club competes in the Fox Memorial competit ...

. Luisi has also represent Niue in international rugby league.

Background

Luisi was born in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, New Zealand.

Early years

Luisi is a

Junior Kiwi The Junior Kiwis side represents New Zealand in the sport of rugby league. They are commonly known as the Junior Kiwis, after the native bird of that name. Since 2010, they are an under-20s side, with players selected from the NRL, Intrust Supe ...

international. Luisi is of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

and Niuean descent and previously played for the

Eastern Tornadoes The Eastern Tornadoes were a New Zealand rugby league franchise that competed in the New Zealand Rugby League's Bartercard Cup and Auckland Rugby League's Super 12 competitions. They were formed to represent the rugby league clubs of East Auckla ...

in the

Bartercard Cup The Bartercard Cup (successor of the Lion Red Cup) was the top level rugby league club competition in New Zealand from 2000 until 2007. For the entire life of the tournament it was sponsored by Bartercard. The cup was administered by the New Zeala ...

, the top level rugby league competition in New Zealand.

England

Zebastian Lucky Luisi joined

London Broncos The London Broncos are a professional rugby league club in London, England. The club competes in the RFL Championship. It was a member of Super League from its inaugural season in 1996 until the end of the 2014 season, when they were relegat ...

on a 2-year contract at the end of 2004's

Super League IX Tetley's Super League IX was the name of the 2004 Super League championship season due to sponsorship by Tetley's Bitter. This was the 110th season of top-level professional rugby league held in Britain, and the ninth championship decided by Super ...

after putting together some impressive performances on trial with the club during that season. The big full-back was selected to play for the Harlequins rugby union side for the

Middlesex Sevens The Middlesex Sevens was a Rugby Sevens tournament held annually at Twickenham stadium in London, England until 2011. It was first held in 1926, and started by Dr J.A. Russell-Cargill, a London-based Scot.Bath, ''Scotland Rugby Miscellany'', p82 Th ...

Twickenham Stadium Twickenham Stadium () in Twickenham, south-west London, England, is a rugby union stadium owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), English rugby union governing body, which has its headquarters there. The England national rugby union team play ...

. Lucky Luisi played for

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

in National League Two having signed in February 2008 from

Harlequins RL The London Broncos are a professional rugby league club in London, England. The club competes in the RFL Championship. It was a member of Super League from its inaugural season in 1996 until the end of the 2014 season, when they were relegat ...

. At the start of the 2009 Season he joined championship club Barrow Raiders Luisi's position of choice is as a . He can also operate on the and in the centres where he is to feature for Doncaster.

Return to New Zealand

He returned home in 2012, joining the

in the

Auckland Rugby League The Auckland Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is responsible for rugby league in the region, including both club and school rugby league. It began in 1910 when the fi ...

competition.Team Lists Round 13 - July 5
''aucklandleague.co.nz'' In 2013 and 2014 he is the

player-coach A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

of the

Howick Hornets The Howick Hornets are a rugby league club based in Howick, New Zealand. The premier team competes in Auckland Rugby League's senior competitions. The club currently competes in the top division, the Fox Memorial Trophy. The club has a rivalry wi ...

.Team Lists
''aucklandleague.co.nz'', 30 March 2013 He played for the

Counties Manukau Stingrays The Counties Manukau rugby league team represents the Counties Manukau zone in the Albert Baskerville Trophy. Previously, teams representing Southern Auckland and the Franklin district of New Zealand have competed in the Lion Red Cup and Barterca ...

in the 2013 National Competition.

Niue

At the

2018 Emerging Nations World Championship The 2018 Emerging Nations World Championship (ENWC) was a rugby league tournament held for Tier Two and Tier Three nations, the third edition of the Rugby League Emerging Nations Tournament. Background Several nations that had not qualified, or ...

, Luisi represented

Niue Niue (, ; niu, Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Zealand. Niue's land area is about and its population, predominantly Polynesian, was about 1,600 in 2016. Niue is located in a triangle between Tong ...

, playing at in all four of the tournament matches. Also, on 27 October, he played in a 36–32 loss against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. In this match, he scored his first try for the Niuean national team.

References

External links

Barrow Raiders profileHarlequins RL Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luisi, Zebastian Lucky 1984 births Living people Barrow Raiders players Counties Manukau rugby league team players Doncaster R.L.F.C. players Eastern Tornadoes players Howick Hornets coaches Howick Hornets players London Broncos players New Zealand Māori rugby league players New Zealand Māori rugby league team players New Zealand people of Niuean descent New Zealand rugby league coaches New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England Niue national rugby league team captains Niue national rugby league team players Otahuhu Leopards players Rugby league centres Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league wingers