Niva Ta'auso is a former Samoan-born New Zealand

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 ...

player. His position was

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. He notably played for Counties-Manukau in the

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as well as for

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

in the

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. He last played for the Pukekohe club where he made his 100th appearance in 2015. Ta'auso debuted for the Chiefs in the

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in 2005 against the

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. In three seasons Ta'auso had played 16 matches and scored 25 points. In 2008 he was drafted into the Highlanders squad. Ta'auso played for Counties-Manukau in the

. He debuted against Argentina in 2001 and returned there in 2011 after departing Connacht.

New Zealand Representative Teams

*New Zealand Divisional XV – 2004 *Junior All Blacks – 2006

Connacht

announced on their official website on 14 July 2008 that they signed Ta'auso for the

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season 2008–09. He remained there until the end of the 2010–2011 season.

References

Living people New Zealand rugby union players Connacht Rugby players Chiefs (Super Rugby) players Highlanders (rugby union) players Counties Manukau rugby union players New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent Rugby union players from Apia 1980 births Expatriate rugby union players in Sri Lanka New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in Ireland New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Sri Lanka Rugby union centres 21st-century New Zealand sportsmen {{Samoa-rugbyunion-bio-stub