Tialata
Neemia Tialata is a former prop who played for the Hurricanes, Toulouse and the All Blacks.
Neemia Tialata Bio
Neemia Tialata is a former prop who represented New Zealand almost 50 times. As well as his successful international career, he also enjoyed great success with Wellington, the Hurricanes and several French sides.
Born 15 July 1982, Neemia Tialata began his professional rugby-playing career in 2003, when he made his first appearance for Wellington. It didn’t take long before he caught the attention of the selectors. As a result, only a year later, he was also called up to represent the Hurricanes in Super Rugby.
Across almost a decade, Neemia Tialata enjoyed highly successful stints with both Wellington and the Hurricanes. With the Hurricanes particularly, he regularly reached the knockout stages of Super Rugby, and he made more than 100 appearances for the side.
Due to the successes he experienced for both Wellington and the Hurricanes, Neemia Tialata was called up to represent the All Blacks for the first time in 2005. Between then and 2010, he made 43 appearances for the side and was a member of New Zealand’s 2007 Rugby World Cup squad.
However, after he was dropped from the All Blacks squad due to poor form in 2010, Neemia Tialata left New Zealand and moved to France. During this period of his career, he made regular appearances for Bayonne, Toulouse and RC Narbonne before he retired in 2019 due to an ankle injury.
Since retiring from the game, Neemia Tialata has returned to New Zealand with his family. He’s since returned to Wellington College, where he helps coach the rugby team.
