Abraham Papali'i

Abraham Papali'i (born 20 June 1993) is a professional rugby player from New Zealand. He has played both rugby union and rugby league professionally. Papali'i currently plays rugby union for Irish Pro14 side Connacht Rugby as a back row. He last played league professionally with French side Lézignan Sangliers in the Elite One Championship, where he covered second-row, lock and centre.

Abraham Papali'i

Date of birth	20 June 1993
Place of birth	Auckland, New Zealand
Height	194 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight	115 kg (18 st 2 lb)
School	Massey High School
Rugby league career
Position(s) Second-row, Lock, Centre Youth career Glenora Bears Pt Chevalier Pirates Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 2014 Glenora Bears 2 (16) 2017–2018 Pt Chevalier Pirates 27 (42) Correct as of 31 December 2018 Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2014 New Zealand Warriors 0 (0) 2015–2016 Sydney Roosters 2 (0) 2016–2017 Lézignan Sangliers 13 (40) 2014–2017 Total 15 (40) Correct as of 3 June 2017
Rugby union career
Position(s) Back row Current team Connacht Youth career Massey Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 2019 Waitakere () 2019 Greerton Marist () Correct as of 10 October 2019 Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2020– Connacht 6 (10) Correct as of 5 February 2021 Provincial / State sides Years Team Apps (Points) 2019 Bay of Plenty 5 (5) Correct as of 10 October 2019

Papali'i's first professional club in either code was the New Zealand Warriors. He featured for the Warriors in the National Youth Competition and NSW Cup, but did not feature for the senior team before leaving for the Sydney Roosters in 2014. Papali'i stayed with the Roosters for two seasons before joining semi-professional side Lézignan. With Lézignan, he contested the final of the 2016–17 Elite One Championship before returning home to New Zealand. In New Zealand, Papali'i began playing amateur rugby union at club level. His form attracted the attention of the Bay of Plenty Steamers, who became his first professional side in the 15-man code. After impressing with the Steamers as they earned promotion, Papali'i was signed by Connacht in July 2020.

Early life

Papali'i was born and raised in Auckland, New Zealand, to a family of Samoan descent.[1] He attended Massey High School in the city.[2] Growing up, he played junior rugby league for the Glenora Bears and Pt Chevalier Pirates and played rugby union at under-age level for the Massey Rugby Club under the North Harbour Rugby Union.[1] After finishing school, Papali'i was signed by the New Zealand Warriors.[2]

Playing career

Youth career

On 16 March 2013, Papali'i made his debut for the New Zealand Warriors' National Youth Championship side against the Sydney Roosters.[2] He went on to make a total of 15 appearances in the competition, scoring 4 tries.[3] Papali'i graduated to their New South Wales Cup team in 2014.[4] At this time, he also played for Auckland Rugby League side, Glenora, competing in the 2014 Fox Memorial tournament.[5] In November 2014, it was announced that Papali'i was leaving the Warriiors.[6]

Papali'i signed a two-year contract with the Sydney Roosters ahead of the 2015 season.[6] He did not feature for the first team that year however. Papali'i made his NRL debut for the Roosters from the bench against the South Sydney Rabbitohs on 8 April 2014, in round 6 of the 2016 season.[7][8] He made one further first team appearance for the side, coming off the bench against Melbourne Storm in a 0–46 defeat.[9]

Lézignan Sangliers

In November 2016, Papali'i joined Lézignan Sangliers in the premier French rugby league competition, the Elite One Championship, linking up with former NRL and Super League player Ben Pomeroy.[10] He made his debut on 4 December 2016 against Carcassonne.[11] Lézignan finished top of the league in the regular season, but lost the final of the 2016–17 Championship to the Limoux Grizzlies.[12] During his season with the side, Papali'i featured 13 times and scored 40 points.[13]

Switch to union

After playing for Lézignan for a season, Papali'i returned to New Zealand. He began playing amateur rugby league with his old junior side Pt Chevalier Pirates, playing in Auckland Rugby League's Fox Memorial competition in 2017 and 2018.[5] The Pirates reached the Grand Finals in both seasons, winning in 2018.[14][15]

In 2019, he decided to switch codes and joined Auckland-based rugby union side Waitakere.[1] Papali'i's form at club level brought him to attention of the Bay of Plenty Steamers, who signed him for the 2019 Mitre 10 Cup.[16] His move to the Steamers also saw him join Baywide Championship side, Greerton Marist, for the remainder of their season.[1] Papali'i made his debut for the Steamers on 11 August 2019 against Otago,[17] scoring a try on his debut.[18] He played five times for the side in the regular season as they topped the Championship Division,[17] but did not feature in the play-offs as the Steamers won the title to earn promotion.[19][20]

Connacht

In July 2020, it was announced that Papali'i had signed with Irish provincial side Connacht.[21] His signing came as Connacht's league, the Pro14, was in the midst of an indefinite hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.[22] Papali'i made his first appearance for the side in the second game after the restart, an interprovincial derby against Munster.[23] His debut was marred by a red card after 25 minutes, for a high tackle on Lions scrum-half Conor Murray.[24]

References

1. "Rugby: Bay of Plenty Steamers sign former NRL player Abraham Papali'i". Bay of Plenty Times. 3 August 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
2. "College Sport: Pupils chase league dream". New Zealand Herald. 19 March 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
3. "National Youth Competition players: P". 18th Man. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
4. "VB NSW Cup Team Lists - Round One". New South Wales Rugby League. 4 March 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
5. "Player statistics for Abraham Papali'i". SportsTG. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
6. "Abraham Papalii joins Roosters". Zero Tackle. 10 November 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
7. "UPDATED: Round 6 NRL team lists". NRL.com. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
8. NRL. "NRL Late Mail | Round 6". Roosters. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
9. "Roosters v Storm - Round 14, 2016 - Match Centre". National Rugby League. 11 June 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
10. Nathan Ryan (21 November 2016). "Shaun Johnson brand, Paul Gallen boxing, Rooster leaves NRL — Private Ryan". Fox Sports. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
11. "Abraham Papali'i - Player Statistics - Elite France XIII 2016". ItsRugby. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
12. "Limoux, c'est fou!". Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII. 3 June 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
13. "Abraham PAPALI'I - Player statistics". ItsRugby. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
14. "Results for 2017 SAS Fox Memorial". SportsTG. 2 September 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
15. "2018 Fox Memorial Grand Final ratings: Pt Chevalier". Kiwi League Central. 3 September 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
16. "2019 Bay of Plenty Steamers squad announced". Chiefs Rugby. 8 August 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
17. "Abraham Papali'i - Player Statistics - MITRE 10 CUP 2019". ItsRugby. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
18. "Abraham Papali'i - Player Statistics - MITRE 10 CUP 2019 - Tries scored". ItsRugby. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
19. "Bay of Plenty v Manawatu, Mitre 10 Cup 2019 - Lineup". Ultimate Rugby. 18 October 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
20. "Bay of Plenty v Hawke's Bay, Mitre 10 Cup 2019 - Lineup". Ultimate Rugby. 25 October 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
21. "Connacht confirm signings of Aussie 7s international and Kiwi number eight". The42. 8 July 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
22. "Coronavirus: Pro14 final cancelled due to coronavirus". BBC Sport. 19 March 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
23. "Papali'i to make Connacht bow, Beirne back for Munster". RTÉ Sport. 28 August 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
24. "Kiwi import Abraham Papali'i red carded for high shot on Lions halfback in Irish rugby debut". Stuff.co.nz. 31 August 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2020.

External links

• Sydney Roosters profile