Orene Ai'i (born 23 September 1979) is a Samoan-born, New Zealand rugby union player who played as a first five-eighth and fullback for the Blues in Super Rugby and Northland in the ITM Cup. He is currently a player and assistant backs coach for the LA Giltinis in Major League Rugby (MLR).
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| Date of birth | 23 September 1979 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Apia, Upolu, Samoa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 81 kg (179 lb; 12.8 st) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Professional career
editAi'i made his professional rugby debut in 2000 against the ACT Brumbies.
He previously played for Toyota Verblitz in Japan and Toulon in France.
Starting in August 2016, he played fly-half/fullback for the San Francisco Rush in PRO Rugby, America's first professional rugby league.
Ai'i re-joined the Blues as an injury cover after his contract with Toyota Verblitz was completed.[1][2]
Match Fit
editAi'i was drafted in Season 4 of Match Fit: Union vs. League in 2024 as a cover for Piri Weepu in the beach rugby game in Piha Beach. He scored a hat-trick and helped Union to win over League.[3]
Honours
edit- 2003 Super Rugby champion – Blues
- IRB Sevens World Series player of the year – 2004-05 season
References
edit- ^ David Long (5 July 2012). "Orene Ai'i answers call for injury-stricken Blues". Retrieved 10 July 2012.
- ^ David Long (3 July 2012). "Orene's back and Blue". Retrieved 10 July 2012.
- ^ "Match Fit Season 4 Ep 3 | SPORT | ThreeNow". www.threenow.co.nz. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
External links
edit- Orene Ai'i at the World Rugby Men's Sevens Series
- Orene Ai'i at ESPNscrum
- Orene Ai'i at ItsRugby.co.uk
- The Blues: Orene Ai'i
