Raymond 'Ray' Niuia (born 1991) is a New Zealand born Samoan rugby union player who currently plays for Moana Pasifika in Super Rugby. He has also played for both the Highlanders and the Blues.[1] His position of choice is Hooker.[2]
| Birth name | Ray Niuia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 19 June 1991 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Auckland, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 176 cm (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 110 kg (17 st 5 lb; 240 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Massey High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Bunnings NPC edit
Niuia made 26 appearances and scored 10 points for North Harbour in 4 seasons.[3]
In 2018 Niuia his debut for the Tasman Mako against Canterbury at Lansdowne Park. Niuia made 10 appearances for the Mako in the 2018 season as the side finished third in the premiership division. Niuia missed the 2019 Mitre 10 Cup due to commitments with Samoa and the 2020 Mitre 10 Cup with injury as the Mako won back to back premiership titles.
Niuia signed with the Manawatu Turbos for the 2021 Bunnings NPC.[4]
Super Rugby edit
Niuia was named in the 2019 Highlanders squad but only played 1 game before being named in the Blues squad for the 2020 Super Rugby season.[5][6] He suffered a season ending injury on his Blues debut. Niuia finally returned from injury in Round 5 of the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman competition in 2021 against the Western Force and came off the bench the following week in the final of the competition against the Highlanders in a 23-15 win for the Blues. He signed with Moana Pasifika for the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season.
Samoa edit
On 23 August 2019, he was named in Samoa's 34 man training squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup,[7] before being named in the final 31 on 31 August.[8]
References edit
- ^ "Ray Niuia". Blues.rugby. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
- ^ "Raymond Niuia". Rugbyhistory.co.nz. 18 May 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
- ^ "Ray Niuia". itsrugby.co.uk. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
- ^ "Double signing for Turbos". turbosrugby.co.nz. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
- ^ "Pulse Energy Highlanders confirm squad for 2019 season". thehighlanders.co.nz. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
- ^ "Blues 2020 squad named". news24.com. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
- ^ "Alalatoa headlines Manu Samoa pre-World Cup squad". Samoa Observer. 23 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
- ^ "Two uncapped players in Samoa squad for Japan". rugbyworldcup.com. Rugby World Cup. 31 August 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
