Ukuma Taʻai

Ukuma Ta'ai (born 17 January 1987) is a Tongan professional rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row, loose forward or prop for the Newcastle Thunder in the Betfred Championship and Tonga at international level.

Ukuma Ta'ai
Personal information
Born (1987-01-17) 17 January 1987
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1]
Weight16 st 7 lb (105 kg)[2]
Playing information
PositionSecond-row, Loose forward, Prop
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2009–12 New Zealand Warriors 52 7 0 0 28
2013–20 Huddersfield Giants 194 47 0 0 188
2021– Newcastle Thunder 0 0 0 0 0
Total 246 54 0 0 216
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2006– Tonga 10 2 0 0 8
As of 29 December 2020
Source: [3][4][5]

He previously played for the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL and the Huddersfield Giants in the Super League.

Background

Ta'ai was born in Nuku'alofa, Tonga.

Early years

Ta'ai was educated at Tonga College and originally played rugby union.

When he moved to Auckland, New Zealand, Ta'ai played for the University club and made the Auckland Rugby Union second XV.[6]

The following year, at the suggestion of a friend, he switched codes and joined the Mt Albert Rugby League Club and played in the Auckland Rugby League competition.[6] In 2008 he played for the Auckland Vulcans in the NSW Cup.

Ta'ai played rugby union on Fridays for Tonga College and played rugby league on Saturdays for his home village club, the Fuekafa of Te'ekiu.

Club Career

New Zealand Warriors

Ta'ai was signed by the New Zealand Warriors in 2009 and made his début in a trial game against the North Queensland Cowboys.[7] He made his first grade début in Round Two 2009 against the Manly Sea Eagles.[8] Ta'ai scored the Warriors first try against Penrith on 17 April after pouncing on a loose pass and crossing under the sticks.

He re-signed with the Warriors for the 2012 season but was told he would be released by the club at the end of the year.[9][10]

Huddersfield Giants

On 12 September 2012 Ta'ai signed with the Huddersfield Giants until 2015. His transfer was held up by red tape, until in January 2013 he was granted a British work permit.[11] He scored his first try against Hull F.C. on 7 July 2013.

Newcastle Thunder

On 5 Feb 2021 it was reported that he had signed for the Newcastle Thunder in the RFL Championship.[12]

Representative career

In 2006 Ta'ai played for Tonga in the Pacific Cup, picked from Tonga College's Under 19 rugby union team at the age of 19.[13] The Tongan team won the tournament.

He played for Tonga in the 2009 Pacific Cup.[6]

At the conclusion of the 2015 season, Ta'ai played for Tonga in their Asia-Pacific Qualifier match against the Cook Islands for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.

References
  1. "Giants to Boast Biggest Pack". Huddersfield Giants. Huddersfield Giants. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  2. "Huddersfield Giants 1st Team Ukuma Ta'ai". Huddersfield Giants web site. Huddersfield Giants. 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  3. loverugbyleague
  4. RLP
  5. Huddersfield Giants Profile
  6. Lowe, Robert (20 May 2010). "NRL: Try-scorer Ta'ai on a learning curve". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  7. "Debut outings for new Warriors". One Sport. 20 February 2009. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  8. Jones set to take on defending premiers Yahoo!Xtra Sport, 17 March 2009
  9. and one of eight Warriors to extend contracts Archived 26 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine rleague.com, 29 May 2011
  10. Ta'ai set to leave Warriors New Zealand Herald, 27 May 2012
  11. "Ta'ai cleared to play for Huddersfield". 3 News NZ. 29 January 2013.
  12. "Ukuma Ta'ai: Newcastle Thunder sign ex-Huddersfield Giants back-rower". BBC Sport. 5 February 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  13. TNRL Current Players Tongan National Rugby League
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