New Zealand rugby union player
Rugby player
Mele Hufanga
Date of birth (1994-10-18 ) 18 October 1994 (age 30) Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) Weight 93 kg (205 lb) Rugby league career
Position Wing, Centre
Mele Hufanga (born 18 October 1994) is a New Zealand rugby league player. She has competed for Tonga internationally in rugby union , and for Tonga and New Zealand in rugby league .[ 1] [ 2] She played for the Blues Women in the inaugural season of Super Rugby Aupiki in 2022. She also made her test debut for the Tonga women's national rugby union team . She competed for the Kiwi Ferns at the delayed 2021 Women's Rugby League World Cup .
Rugby union career
Hufanga scored 16 tries for Auckland in the 2015 Farah Palmer Cup season.[ 2] [ 1] Hufanga played for Counties Manukau in the 2020 season of the Farah Palmer Cup .[ 3] [ 1] [ 4] In 2021 she played for the Moana Pasifika women's sevens team at the Takiwhitu Tutūru tournament in Wellington .[ 5] [ 6] [ 7]
Hufanga signed with the Blues for the inaugural season of Super Rugby Aupiki.[ 8] [ 9] [ 10] She scored a try in their match against Matatū in round 2 of the 2022 Super Rugby Aupiki season .[ 11] [ 12] [ 13]
Hufanga captained Tonga at the 2022 Oceania Championship in New Zealand .[ 14] She scored a brace of tries against Samoa in the opening match of the tournament.[ 15] [ 16] She scored again against Fiji in their 34–7 loss in the second game.[ 17] [ 18] She scored four tries in her sides 108–7 trouncing of Papua New Guinea in their final match.[ 19] [ 20]
Rugby league career
Hufanga represented Tonga in a test match against Niue in 2020.[ 21] She competed for the Kiwi Ferns at the delayed 2021 Women's Rugby League World Cup in England .[ 22] [ 23] [ 24]
References
^ a b c Stanley, Ashley (25 May 2021). "Super Rugby: Culture and values a winning recipe for Moana Pasifika" . Stuff . Retrieved 21 March 2022 .
^ a b "MELE HUFANGA - Tackling Pasifika health challenges head-on" . www.thecoconet.tv . Retrieved 21 March 2022 .
^ "Talented squad selected for 2020 Farah Palmer Cup Campaign" . Counties Manukau Rugby Football Union . Retrieved 21 March 2022 .
^ "Counties Manukau: PREVIEW 2020" . allblacks.com . 2 September 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2022 .
^ "Takiwhitu Tuturu has provided an ideal training ground for NZ" . Planet Sevens . 19 April 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2022 .
^ "Teams announced for Takiwhitu Tūturu" . allblacks.com . 6 April 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2022 .
^ "Moana Pasifika women make rugby history" . Nukualofa Times . 9 April 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2022 .
^ "Inaugural Super Rugby Aupiki squads announced" . www.voxy.co.nz . 4 November 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2022 .
^ "Women's Super Rugby squads announced for 2022" . ClubRugby.nz . 4 November 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2022 .
^ "19 Auckland Rugby players named in Super Rugby Aupiki squads" . www.aucklandrugby.co.nz . Retrieved 21 March 2022 .
^ Burnes, Campbell (15 March 2022). "Blues full of merit in downing Matatū" . superrugby.co.nz . Retrieved 21 March 2022 .
^ Powell, Alex (15 March 2022). "Super Rugby Aupiki: Blues defeat Matatū to notch first competitive victory in competition debut" . Newshub . Retrieved 21 March 2022 .
^ Reive, Christopher (15 March 2022). "Super Rugby Aupiki: Strong attack lifts Blues to impressive win over Matatū" . NZ Herald . Retrieved 21 March 2022 .
^ "Teams ready for first outing of 2022 Oceania Rugby Womens Championship" . oceania.rugby . 9 July 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022 .
^ Walker, Sarah (9 July 2022). "2022 Oceania Rugby Women's Championship Team Lists 9 July 2022" (PDF) . Oceania Rugby . Retrieved 20 August 2022 .
^ "Samoa win in a close match while Fiji dominated day 1 of the Oceania Rugby Women's Championship" . oceania.rugby . 9 July 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022 .
^ Walker, Sarah (13 July 2022). "2022 Oceania Rugby Women's Championship Team List 13 July 2022" (PDF) . Oceania Rugby . Retrieved 20 August 2022 .
^ "Samoa and Fiji Win Again to Set Up Championship Decider" . oceania.rugby . 14 July 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022 .
^ Walker, Sarah (17 July 2022). "2022 Oceania Rugby Women's Championship Team Lists 17 July 2022" (PDF) . Oceania Rugby . Retrieved 20 August 2022 .
^ "Fijiana win Oceania Rugby Womens Championship in a thriller" . oceania.rugby . 17 July 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022 .
^ "Mele Hufanga" . New Zealand Rugby League . Retrieved 20 November 2022 .
^ Walter, Brad (18 November 2022). " 'I've always had my eye on league': Hufanga ready for NRLW move" . National Rugby League . Retrieved 20 November 2022 .
^ Long, David (5 November 2022). "Code hopping Mele Hufanga finds her home at Kiwi Ferns for Rugby League World Cup" . Stuff . Retrieved 20 November 2022 .
^ Dahal, Manish (17 November 2022). "Mele Hufanga: 5 Facts On New Zealand Rugby Player" . sportslulu.com . Retrieved 20 November 2022 .
External links