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The three heaviest players in New Zealand that bring Uini Atonio-level size

(Photos by Franco Arland/Getty Images and Kerry Marshall/Getty Images)

New Zealand teams have been undone by power teams on occasion as the game continues to grow with size becoming a large component of the equation.

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At the U20 World Championships in 2023 New Zealand were overpowered by France U20 and the colossal might of lock Posolo Tuilagi weighing in at 149kgs and other massive French forwards.

Tuilagi scored a double in the 35-14 victory, leading head coach Clark Laidlaw to claim that “these men have never come up against forwards that are 150kgs and two or three of them all in the same forward pack, so we have got to learn how we deal with that.”

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The All Blacks were undone by the French in the opening game of the 2023 Rugby World Cup where France’s scrum was used to win penalties and points. Former New Zealand schoolboy prop Uini Atonio, clocking in at 145kg, seemed to get the better of loosehead Ethan de Groot.

There is a misconception that New Zealand has limited power options to combat this trend of monster-sized forwards, but in the 2024 Super Rugby squads there are three props who possess the size of Atonio.

The issue for those players is the All Blacks will never select solely on size & power, with technique, skill, mobility, work rate and a host of other intangibles needed to earn selection.

But these prospects provide a level of size that doesn’t grow on trees. The Highlanders, Crusaders and Hurricanes have on the rosters the three heaviest players in New Zealand.

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The first is one that every rugby fan in New Zealand knows about, 2023 All Black debutant Tamaiti Williams, listed at 144kg by the Crusaders.

The 6 ft 5 prop debuted against the Springboks at Mt Smart and featured in eight Tests in 2023 during the Rugby Championship and Rugby World Cup.

Williams was handed big minutes at the Crusaders as they managed an injury crisis that saw veteran John Afoa drafted in as cover after losing Fletcher Newell, George Bower.

It was the 23-year-old who logged 70 plus minutes in multiple games as a tighthead which lead to his call-up with the national side.

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Williams possesses a frame that will be of incredible value as his game develops and he becomes established at international level.

The next prospect is Saula Ma’u, a Tongan-born tighthead prop with the Highlanders who clocks in at 140kg.

After finishing school in Auckland, Ma’u has spent three seasons with Otago in the NPC before making his Highlanders debut in 2022.

Injury setbacks kept him out of action prior to his Super Rugby debut, and he has since logged 22 games for the Highlanders.

He will enter his third year of Super Rugby Pacific at just 23 years old and compete for game time at tighthead with veteran Jermaine Ainsley and young Nelson-product Luca Inch.

The third is Bay of Plenty product Pasilio Tosi who is listed at 140kg and is signed with the Hurricanes.

Tosi is a former No 8 turned prop with strong ball carrying ability that the Hurricanes first picked up in 2021. His debut came in 2022 where he made four appearances and continued that with six more this year.

The 25-year-old will likely deputise for All Black starter Tyrel Lomax in 2024 and look to bring impact late in games off the bench for the Hurricanes.

Size isn’t everything but these three players are the only ones in New Zealand who clock in over the 140kg mark. Even players that reach 130kg are rare, with none currently listed on New Zealand’s Super Rugby rosters currently.

Which means Williams, Tosi and Ma’u have at least 10kg on every other player that they will face in 2024.

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Comments

3 Comments
K
Kostya 474 days ago

Absolute units

A
Alfred 474 days ago

Ben Tameifuna, Tonga’s captain and heaviest prop at 154kg is a former NZ under 20s champion prop. How come he is not in this same conversation?

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Mzilikazi 35 minutes ago
How Dupont-less France tossed a grenade into Ireland's Grand Slam celebrations

This performance from Ireland does not surprise me. Go back to the Emgland game last year, and the way Ireland played there. Some poor defence, especially at the death, allowing the Smith drop goal, which was from an virtually .unmissable position.


Then the AB loss in the autumn, when Ireland played as poorly as I have seen this current group play. I agree with you, Nick, when you cite the falloff in attacking/try scoring ability which started with the Lancaster / Nienaber transition.


The loss of injured players is also a factor, but I would only mention it in passing, not overplay that one. After all, France were missing their first choice centre pairing.


The Prendergast v Crowley debate. I have been in the “Crowley to start” camp from the get go, and for this game specially, I feel that strategically Crowley should have started. The Munster man just has that bit more to his game, that bit more toughness and variation. I would suspect the French coaching group were delighted to be looking at how they played the Irish staring 10 for this game.


Prendergast is a supreme passer of the ball, and ultra cool and balanced, probably the better goal kicker. But in that first half(as far as I have got in the game so far), he was caught twice in possession, once really bulldozed back by the French forwards. In addition, he made some poor kicking choices, and only once took the line on. He was too easy to read, never a line breaking threat. I have read he played out the full 80 at 10. That leaves me seething. The Irish coaching group repeating the mistake made in the RWC QF in France, with Crowley again not used to advantage.

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SK 1 hour ago
How Dupont-less France tossed a grenade into Ireland's Grand Slam celebrations

I think France have made really good improvements. They have found several players on the bench and in the wider squad who are able to now operate at the level of their starters, they have power and devastation on the bench and can change the game. Their gameplan has also evolved and they are able to stay in the fight for longer. Fitness and conditioning seems to have become primary work ons. They have worked massively on breakdown where they forced so many turnovers and always slowed down Irelands ball. How many times did you see a French hand on the ball fighting the first and second cleaner tooth and nail for access before being shoved off of it? They become like a pack of rabid dogs on turnover and transitions, they counter so much better now and you can see elements of the Bordeaux and Toulouse game written all over the team. Its almost like a swarm when they counter. They have great alignment between the Top 14 and the national team and they have a group of players who are well versed in playing this style. You could see clearly in this game why both Galthie and Erasmus now fancy a 7-1 stack against Ireland. It is by and large to overpower them and demolish their breakdown. Irelands attack has devolved. Its now more metronomic than creative. It involves phase after phase of attritional attack and hordes of possession but it lacks creativity and purpose after the second or third phase. The Ireland attack of old kept teams guessing. You didnt know if they were gonna go wide or close in, you had to worry about the offload, the inside pass, the blindside and the hooker on the wing. Now it seems like they move the ball side to side while patiently waiting for the dam wall to break. They also lack pace and bite in the outside channels without Hansen and Lowe. Nash and Osborne were not on it and they struggled to contain the outside French backs who were incredible. France had more leaders that stood up, more grit and more power and it all proved too much for Ireland to handle.

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