Christian Lealiifano
 | |||
| Full name | Christian Leali'ifano | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 24 September 1987 | ||
| Place of birth | Auckland, New Zealand | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Weight | 95 kilograms (14 st 13 lb) | ||
| Rugby union career | |||
| Current status | |||
| Position(s) | Centre/Fly-half | ||
| Current team | Brumbies | ||
| Playing career | |||
| Position | Centre/Fly-half | ||
| Professional / senior clubs | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 2007 2014−15 2016− |
Canberra Vikings Canberra Vikings Suntory Sungoliath |
6 10 |
(10) (90) |
| correct as of 3 November 2015. | |||
| Provincial/State sides | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 2010 | Waikato | 11 | (5) |
| Super Rugby | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 2007– | Brumbies | 117 | (803) |
| correct as of 22 July 2016. | |||
| National team(s) | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 2013- | Australia | 19 | (124) |
| correct as of 25 June 2016. | |||
Christian Lealiifano (born 24 September 1987), is a New Zealand-born Australian rugby union player of Samoan heritage. His surname is spelled Leali'ifano when using Samoan diacritics. He currently plays for the Brumbies in Super Rugby and his usual position is inside centre or fly-half.[1] In August 2016, two weeks after the Brumbies were knocked out of the Super Rugby finals, Lealiifano was diagnosed with leukaemia. He is currently undergoing treatment for the disease.
Early life
Lealiifano was born in Auckland and moved with his family to Melbourne when he was seven years old.[2] He attended Peter Lalor Secondary College and played rugby union for the Australian Schoolboys team in 2004 and 2005.[3]
Lealiifano joined the Brumbies rugby academy program in 2006.[3] Later that year he was selected for the Australian Under 19 and Under 21 rugby teams.[4][5] He played fly-half for the Australian Under 19 rugby team that won the IRB World Championship in 2006.[3]
Rugby union career
In 2007, Lealiifano signed with the Brumbies on a rookie contract. He played for the Australian Sevens rugby team, and for the Canberra Vikings in the Australian Rugby Championship in 2007.[4][6]
Lealiifano made his Super Rugby debut in 2008 against the Crusaders in Christchurch.[1] He played fly-half in 2008 and 2009, before shifting to inside centre when Matt Giteau returned to the Brumbies in 2010.[2] Lealiifano played six Super 14 games for the Brumbies in 2010 before being sidelined with a knee injury (rupture to his posterior cruciate). He recovered by July to play in the ITM Cup for Waikato in 2010,[1] and he played fourteen matches for the Brumbies in 2011.
In 2012, Lealiifano was named Man of the Match by Super Rugby officials for eight out of the ten Super Rugby games he played.[1] Unfortunately, he suffered a broken ankle in his tenth game which ended his season and any chance of being selected for the Wallabies in 2012.[1]
Lealiifano's Test debut for the Wallabies lasted less than one minute. On 22 June 2013, he was knocked out attempting to tackle the British and Irish Lions centre Jonathan Davies in Brisbane.[7]
Super Rugby Statistics
- As of 22 July 2016[8]
| Season | Team | Games | Starts | Sub | Mins | Tries | Cons | Pens | Drops | Points | Yel | Red |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Brumbies | 13 | 13 | 0 | 1040 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| 2009 | Brumbies | 9 | 9 | 0 | 712 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 26 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 | Brumbies | 6 | 6 | 0 | 466 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 | Brumbies | 14 | 12 | 2 | 937 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 0 |
| 2012 | Brumbies | 10 | 10 | 0 | 788 | 0 | 17 | 25 | 0 | 109 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | Brumbies | 18 | 18 | 0 | 1393 | 4 | 22 | 58 | 0 | 238 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | Brumbies | 13 | 10 | 3 | 904 | 0 | 12 | 15 | 0 | 69 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | Brumbies | 18 | 18 | 0 | 1419 | 4 | 33 | 28 | 0 | 170 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | Brumbies | 16 | 16 | 0 | 1267 | 3 | 41 | 22 | 0 | 163 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 117 | 112 | 5 | 8926 | 20 | 125 | 149 | 2 | 803 | 2 | 0 | |
Reference list
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Brumbies Profile: Christian Lealiifano". Brumbies. 20 March 2012. Archived from the original on 17 March 2012.
- 1 2 Harris, Bret (17 February 2012). "Christian Lealiifano will take some time before signing a new contract". The Australian.
- 1 2 3 Ceddia, Adrian (2 May 2006). "Union world at Christian's feet". Whittlesea-Mernda-Doreen Star. Star News.
- 1 2 "Lealiifano re-signs with ACT Brumbies" (Press release). Titan Management. 5 September 2007.
- ↑ ARU (22 May 2006). "Australian U21s selected for 2006 IRB World Championships" (Press release). ARU.
- ↑ Brumbies Media Unit (20 March 2012). "Lealiifano ready to take on the Highlanders" (Press release). Brumbies.
- ↑ "Wallabies Lealiifano, Barnes injured in first half". Special Broadcasting Service. Australia. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
- ↑ "Player Statistics". its rugby. Retrieved 26 July 2016.