Ma'afu Fia (born 22 November 1989) is a Tongan International

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

prop A prop, formally known as a (theatrical) property, is an object actors use on stage or screen during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

who most recently played rugby for

Ospreys The osprey (; ''Pandion haliaetus''), historically known as sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and a wingspan of . It is ...

in the URC, having previously represented the Highlanders in

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...

Early life

Fia was born in

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

and moved to New Zealand in 2001. He went to school with

Aaron Cruden Aaron Wiremu Cruden (born 8 January 1989) is a New Zealand rugby union player, who plays for Waikato and formerly Montpellier, Manawatu and New Zealand internationally. Cruden's usual position is fly-half (first five-eighth). Early life Cru ...

, Andre Taylor and

Kurt Baker Kurt Baker (born 7 October 1988) is a New Zealand rugby union player, who currently plays as a fullback or wing for Old Glory DC in Major League Rugby (MLR). Between 2008 and 2022, Baker played for the New Zealand Sevens team in 233 World R ...

Playing career

Provincial Rugby

Fia had a stellar year in 2009 as he broke into the Manawatu provincial squad for the

Air New Zealand Cup An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...

competition and helped New Zealand to the IRB World Under-20 title. As a result, he was named Manawatu's Outstanding Junior Sportsperson for 2009. 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 union ...

, Fia established himself as a starter at prop for Manawatu, and scored his first provincial try. In the

2011 ITM Cup The 2011 ITM Cup season was the sixth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on July 14, when Otago (National Provincial Championship), Otago hosted North Harbour ...

, he was a key part of a vastly improved Turbos squad.

Super Rugby

Fia signed with the Highlanders for the

2012 Super Rugby season The 2012 Super Rugby season was the second season of the Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included tea ...

. He spent 4 seasons with the Highlanders and was a member of their 2015 Super Rugby championship squad, although he was sidelined for most of the season through a knee injury.

Pro 14

On 5 October 2015, Fia signed a 3-year contract with the

. On 17 September 2016, he scored his first Ospreys try against Treviso in round 3.

International

Fia was born in Tonga but moved to New Zealand in 2001 at the age of 11, and represented

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

at youth levels. He is a

2009 IRB Junior World Championship The 2009 IRB Junior World Championship (known as the 2009 IRB Toshiba Junior World Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the second annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams, this competition replaces the now de ...

winner, with New Zealand. He made his debut for the

Tonga Rugby Union The Tonga Rugby Union is the governing body of the sport of rugby union in Tonga. They are members of Oceania Rugby. There is a rugby union playing population of fewer than 800 out of a total population of 100,000. They were formed in 1923, and j ...

on 17 November 2018, against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. He was selected for his first

Rugby World Cup The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport. The tournament is administer ...

in 2019.

References

External links

Manawatu Profile
1989 births Living people Tongan rugby union players Rugby union props Highlanders (rugby union) players Manawatu rugby union players Tongan emigrants to New Zealand People educated at Palmerston North Boys' High School Ospreys (rugby union) players Rugby union players from Tongatapu Tonga international rugby union players Bath Rugby players 2019 Rugby World Cup players Tongan expatriate rugby union players in England {{Tonga-rugbyunion-bio-stub