Ali Lauitiiti

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Ali Lauitiiti
Personal information
Full name Ali Lauitiiti
Date of birth July 13, 1979 (1979-07-13) (age 28)
Place of birth Auckland, New Zealand
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight 17 st 7 lbs (111 kg)
Club information
Position(s) Second Row
Current club Leeds Rhinos
Number 14
Youth clubs
Years Club
Mangere East
Senior clubs*
Years Club Apps (points)
1998 ‐ 04
2004 ‐		 NZ Warriors
Leeds Rhinos		 115 (132)
77 (112)
Representative teams
2000 ‐ 06
2007 ‐		 New Zealand
Samoa		 15

* Professional club appearances and points
counted for domestic first grade only.

Ali Lauitiiti is a rugby league player.

Ali played for the Mangere East club in 1996 and shone as a junior in their U19 side in 1997 scoring 17 tries in 19 games. He went on to gain international honours with the Junior Kiwis that year, and again in 1998.

Ali made his senior debut back in April 1998 for the New Zealand Warriors.

He was selected for the New Zealand test squad for the 2000 Anzac test but missed out on final selection for the match instead making a try scoring debut against the Cook Islands at Reading in the World Cup. He also scored against Wales in the next game at the Millennium Stadium.

In 2002 he was named the NRL's second-rower of the year. He was an integral part of the Warriors squad that reached the Grand Final in 2002, the first time in the club’s history, however they were to lose out to the Sydney Roosters on that occasion. He appeared in 115 games for the Warriors and scored 33 tries.

He has now played 14 times for New Zealand and was part of the Kiwis side that toured Great Britain in 2002, featuring in seven out of the eight games on the tour, including all three Tests against the Lions, plus games against St Helens, England A, Wales and France. He also scored in the third Test against Great Britain.

In 2005 he once again joined the New Zealand squad and scored a try against Great Britain in the Tri Nations after coming on from the bench, and was then part of the successful squad who defeated Australia in the final.

Ali was selected to represent The All Golds side in the match against The Northern Union at The Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington in October 2007, scoring two tries in the match. He has since made himself available for Samoa's World Cup Campaign.

[edit] Leeds Career

Ali joined the Rhinos in May 2004 from NRL side the New Zealand Warriors on a two and a half year contract. When he was released from his contract with the Warriors it sparked a world wide chase for his signature. However, the Rhinos beat competition from 14 other clubs in Australia and England to secure the second rower.

He made his debut for the Rhinos against Salford and took little time to settle in, scoring his first try in the subsequent game against Bradford Bulls. His incredible ball handling skills earned him a place in the Tetley’s Super League Dream Team in 2004 and 2005.

In 2005 Ali scored 14 tries in 32 appearances including 17 as a replacement. His 14 tries includes an incredible five tries against Wakefield when he came off the bench to become the first forward in the summer era to score five tries.

He was part of the Leeds side for the World Club Challenge who picked up honours after defeating the Canterbury Bulldogs in 2005. He also appeared in the Challenge Cup Final and helped the Rhinos to their second successive Grand Final appearance when he scored the winning try against St Helens with an 80 metre run in the Grand Final Qualifier.

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