Height 1.99 m (6 ft 6 in) Years Team Current club Auckland | Playing position Weight 116 kg (18 st 4 lb) Name Michael Fatialofa | |
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Born 14 September 1992 (age 31)
Auckland, New Zealand ( 1992-09-14 ) School(s) attended Mount Albert Grammar School School Mount Albert Grammar School | ||
Bryce Heem meets Michael Fatialofa
Michael Fatialofa (born 14 September 1992) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a lock for Auckland in New Zealand's domestic Mitre 10 Cup and the Hurricanes in the international Super Rugby competition.
Contents
- Bryce Heem meets Michael Fatialofa
- Early career
- Senior career
- Super Rugby
- International
- Career Honours
- Super Rugby Statistics
- References
Early career
Born in Auckland, Fatialofa was educated at Mount Albert Grammar School in his hometown where he played first XV rugby for 3 years and helped them to lift the Auckland Schools title in 2010. Rated as one of the top New Zealand lock prospects at the time, it came as something of a surprise when he opted to move to the country's far south to play club rugby with the Blues in Southland after he'd finished high school.
Senior career
He spent the first 4 years of his senior career playing provincial rugby for Southland with whom he racked up 36 appearances. His first season with the Stags saw him play 3 times as they were relegated from the ITM Cup Premiership. The men from Invercargill finished 4th on the Championship log for the next three seasons which saw them qualify for the promotion playoffs, however, each time they lost at the semi-final stage to the eventual champions, going down to Counties Manukau, Tasman and Manawatu respectively. In 2013 and 2014, he was a key figure in Southland's line up, playing all 22 matches across both seasons.
He moved back home to Auckland ahead of the 2015 ITM Cup with the switch seeing him join one of New Zealand's traditional rugby powerhouses. He played 11 times in his first season with the blue and whites and scored his first ever provincial try to help his new side finish 2nd on the Premiership log and reach the playoff final where they would lose out 25-23 to Canterbury.
2016 would not be such a happy year for Auckland as they finished up 5th on the Premiership log, missing out on the playoffs altogether, Fatialofa himself played in 8 of their 10 matches during the season.
Super Rugby
Four years of toil with Southland and an impressive season with Auckland saw him finally earn a Super Rugby contract with the Wellington-based Hurricanes ahead of the 2016 Super Rugby season. His first year in New Zealand's capital turned out to be a roaring success as he formed an impressive second row partnership with Vaea Fifita as the 'Canes, beaten finalists in 2015, went one better in 2016 and were crowned Super Rugby champions following a 20-3 victory over South African side, the Lions in the tournament final. Fatialofa played 15 times during his debut Super Rugby campaign.
International
He was a New Zealand Schools representative in 2010.
On 5 November 2016, he featured for the Barbarians in their 31-31 draw against South Africa at Wembley Stadium. He played the entire 80 minutes in the number 5 jersey in a side containing his Hurricanes team-mates, Reggie Goodes and Brad Shields.
Career Honours
Hurricanes