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Joe Apikotoa
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Key Information
Sosefo Losino 'Apikotoa (born 18 July 1996) is a rugby union player, who currently plays as a prop for Hawke's Bay in New Zealand's domestic National Provincial Championship competition[1] and for Anthem Rugby Carolina in Major League Rugby (MLR).[2] He previously played for Moana Pasifika in Super Rugby.[3] He was born and raised in New Zealand, but represents Tonga internationally, for which he is eligible due to his Tongan descent.
Early career
[edit]'Apikotoa was born in Wellington and attended St Patrick's College, Silverstream, where he played both rugby and league.[4]
Rugby
[edit]He played for his school's 1st XV team in the Wellington Premiership 1st XV competition in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
After his return from a brief league stint in Australia (see below), 'Apikotoa played for Hutt Old Boys-Marist in the Wellington Premier club rugby competition.[5][6]
He was part of the Wellington U19 team that finished fifth at the Jock Hobbs Memorial National U19 tournament in 2015.[7]
League
[edit]In 2012 and 2013, 'Apikotoa played for the Wellington Orcas U17 team. He was named the Wellington Orcas 17s Player of the Year and Junior Player of the Year in 2013.[8] A year later, he played for the premier Wellington Orcas squad.[5]
While still at school, he signed a 2-year contract with Melbourne Storm (starting in November 2014), but in December 2014 he already returned home to New Zealand and from then on focused on playing rugby.[5][6]
Senior career
[edit]While he was not named in the Wellington Lions squad for the 2015 ITM Cup season, 'Apikotoa played 5 games off the bench for them that year. He made his Wellington debut on 15 August 2015 against Taranaki.[4] 'Apikotoa was named in the Wellington Lions squad in 2016[9] and 2017[10] and played 22 games for the province.
In 2017, 'Apikotoa was selected in the Hurricanes squad for the inaugural Brisbane Global Rugby Tens.[11]
In search for more game time, he moved to Hawke's Bay the following year and was named in the Magpies squad for the 2018 Mitre 10 Cup season.[12][13] He played 11 games for the province, that year.
In 2019, 'Apikotoa played a preseason game for the Highlanders, but it didn't result in a further call-up by the franchise.[14]
Later that year, 'Apikotoa had a brief stint in Spain, where he played 9 games for the Basque club Ordizia RE that competes in the Spanish División de Honor de Rugby.[15] He returned home before the end of their season, to look for playing opportunities in New Zealand.[16]
He went back to Hawke's Bay and was named in the Magpies squad for the 2020 Mitre 10 Cup season.[17] During that season, the Magpies won the Ranfurly Shield (taking it off Otago),[18] were successful in three more Ranfurly Shield defences (against Northland, Manawatu and Wellington), and won the Mitre 10 Cup Championship, thus securing a well-deserved promotion to the Premiership division.[19] The Magpies held on to the Shield during the entire 2021 Bunnings NPC season, winning all six Ranfurly Shield defences.[20]
After a successful 2020 season with the Magpies, while not named in the initial Chiefs' squad for the 2021 Super Rugby season, 'Apikotoa was signed by the franchise as an injury replacement.[21] He made his Super Rugby debut for the Chiefs on 20 March 2021 against the Hurricanes and played 5 games for the side, that year.[22]
On 9 November 2021, Moana Pasifika announced that the new franchise had signed 'Apikotoa for the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season.[3] On 4 March 2022, he made his debut for the new franchise – off the bench – in their inaugural Super Rugby game against the Crusaders.[23] He scored his first Super Rugby try in Moana Pasifika's second game of the season, against the Chiefs, on 19 March 2022.[24] He played two seasons for the franchise.
On 2 February 2024, 'Apikotoa was named in the Anthem Rugby Carolina squad for the 2024 Major League Rugby season.[25] He made his debut for the club on 5 April 2024 in their round 6 game against Utah Warriors.[26]
International career
[edit]Rugby
[edit]'Apikotoa was invited to attend a New Zealand U20 Development Camp in November 2015 and an U20 trial camp in March 2016, but wasn't named in the New Zealand Under-20 squad for the 2016 Oceania Rugby Under 20 Championship and the 2016 World Rugby Under 20 Championship.[27][28]
On 27 May 2022, 'Apikotoa – who is of Tongan descent – was named in the Tongan national team for the 2022 Pacific Nations Cup and the Asia/Pacific qualification match for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.[29] He made his international test debut for Tonga on 2 July 2022 against Fiji.[30]
League
[edit]In 2013, 'Apikotoa played for the New Zealand Residents U18 team that played two tests against Australian Secondary Schools XIII.[31] A year later, he was selected again and played two tests against the New South Wales-based Taurahere Kiwis.[32]
References
[edit]- ^ @hbmagpies; (31 July 2024). "Squad 2024". Retrieved 1 August 2024 – via Instagram.
- ^ "Anthem RC announce 2025 roster". Anthem Rugby Carolina (Press release). 21 January 2025. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
- ^ a b "Azelo and Joe join Moana Pasifika". Moana Pasifika (Press release). 9 November 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ^ a b "Joe Apikotoa Wellington Lions Player Profile". Wellington Lions. 2017. Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ a b c "Joe Apikotoa's rugby on the rise". Clubrugby.co.nz. 27 August 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ a b "Young prop Joe Apikotoa swaps Melbourne Storm for Wellington Lions". NZ Stuff. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ "Wellington Under 19 2015: squad, matches and results" (PDF). Wellington Rugby. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ "Wellington Rugby League Newsletter "Pass It On"". Wellington Rugby League (27 ed.). 15 November 2013. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ "Baumann and Lousi add bulk to young Lions". Wellington Rugby (Press release). 11 August 2016. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ "Brad Shields to captain Lions into new era". Wellington Rugby (Press release). 11 August 2017. Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ "Jane raring to go for Global Tens". Hurricanes (Press release). 31 January 2017. Archived from the original on 14 April 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ "Joe Apikotoa pushes for Magpies starting berth". Hawke's Bay Today. 10 September 2018. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ "2018 Magpies Squad Announced". Hawke's Bay Rugby Union (Press release). 8 August 2018. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ "Highlanders to get underway in Alexandra". Highlanders (Press release). 31 January 2019. Archived from the original on 5 February 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ "Joe Apikotoa cierra la plantilla de Ampo Ordizia". El Diario Vasco (in Spanish). 2 September 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ "Refuerzos para ampo y Hernani". Noticias de Gipuzkoa (in Spanish). 6 December 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ "Plenty of depth in Magpies Mitre 10 Cup rugby squad". Hawke's Bay App. 7 September 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ "Ranfurly Shield roundabout continues". provincial.rugby. 4 October 2020. Archived from the original on 25 October 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- ^ "Magpies crowned kings of the Championship". provincial.rugby. 27 November 2020. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- ^ "NPC: Hawke's Bay lock away Ranfurly Shield for summer after seeing off Waikato". Stuff NZ. 23 October 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
- ^ "More Magpies scoop Super contracts". Hawke's Bay Today. 22 January 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ "Gallagher Chiefs named to face the Hurricanes in the Capital". Chiefs. 18 March 2021. Archived from the original on 24 September 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ "Super Rugby Pacific: 'This has been 26 years in the making' for Moana Pasifika". Stuff NZ. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ^ "Super Rugby Pacific: Chiefs thump Moana Pasifika". The New Zealand Herald. 19 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
- ^ "Anthem Rugby Carolina announces roster as preseason kicks off in Charlotte". Anthem Rugby Carolina (Press release). 2 February 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
- ^ "MLR 2024: Utah Warriors vs Anthem Carolina – ARN Guide". Americas Rugby News. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
- ^ "Search begins for 2016's NZ Under 20". allblacks.com (Press release). 12 November 2015. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ "New Zealand Under 20 hopefuls in trial camp". allblacks.com (Press release). 11 March 2016. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ "Our Ikale Tahi squad for the Pacific Nations & World Cup Qualifier 2022. Congratulations to all the players who have made the team". Tonga Rugby Union – via Facebook. 27 May 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
- ^ "Israel Folau, Charles Piutau and Malakai Fekitoa named for test rugby returns". Rugbypass. 1 July 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
- ^ "New Zealand U-18, U-16 league squads named". Stuff NZ. 21 September 2013. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ "Busy times for age-group aces". New Zealand Rugby League. 18 September 2014. Archived from the original on 27 September 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
External links
[edit]- Joe Apikotoa at ESPNscrum (archived)
- Joe Apikotoa at ItsRugby.co.uk
- NZ Rugby History profile
- División de Honor Player Profile
