Jone Macilai-Tori
Jone Macilai-Tori (born 27 August 1990 in Suva, Fiji), is a professional rugby union player. He plays for Northland in the Mitre 10 Cup and the Blues in Super Rugby. He has previously played for the Crusaders. Macilai plays as a winger.
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth name | Jone Macilai-Tori | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 27 August 1990 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Suva, Fiji | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 97 kg (15 st 4 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career
Macilai was spotted by local sevens coach Lote Rasiga and was included in the Red Rock sevens squad.[1] He was later spotted by Awanui Rugby Club coach Glen Subritzky playing sevens at Coral Coast sevens tournament in Fiji in 2012 who included him in his squad.[2] His performance for Awanui saw him selected for Northland in 2013 alongside the returning Rupeni Caucau. He missed most of the games in the season due to a dislocated elbow.[3]
A strong 2014 ITM Cup saw him receive Super Rugby offers from the Blues, Highlanders and Crusaders. He signed with the Crusaders and partnered with block busting Fijian winger, Nemani Nadolo.[4]
A broken arm in pre season meant he was out injured for 3 months. He made his debut off the bench on 8 May scoring a try on debut against the Reds.[5]
He mainly played as a back up winger for the Crusaders in the 2016 Super Rugby season behind Nemani Nadolo, Johnny McNicholl and David Havili but a few injuries in the backline to Ryan Crotty and McNicholl saw him start a few games. He started against the Brumbies in Round 8 and scored a try set up by Matt Todd. In Round 10, he started on the left wing due to Nadolo being given a 4 week ban and scored three tries, two of which were set up by Israel Dagg and he also set up a try for Scott Barrett as well. He also chased down a conversion successfully of Red's flyhalf Jake McIntyre which is a rarity in rugby.[6]
References
- "Macilai Gets Crusaders Callup". Fiji Sun. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
- Ali, Imran. "Winger poised to step up". NZ Herald. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
- "Northland embarrass Wellington in NPC blowout". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
- "Fruean, flying Fijian boost Crusaders". TVNZ. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
- "Crusaders turn on Christchuch magic". Planet Rugby. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
- "Crusaders hammer the Reds". Stuff. Retrieved 2016-05-07.