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Joe Apikotoa

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.

Joe 'Apikotoa
Full nameSosefo Losino 'Apikotoa
Date of birth (1996-07-18) 18 July 1996 (age 28)
Place of birthWellington, New Zealand
Height1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight120 kg (265 lb; 18 st 13 lb)
SchoolSt Patrick's College, Silverstream
Rugby union career
Position(s) Prop
Current team Hawke's Bay, Anthem Rugby Carolina
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2015–2017 Wellington 22 (0)
2018 Hawke's Bay 11 (5)
2019–2020 Ordizia RE 9 (10)
2020– Hawke's Bay 39 (5)
2021 Chiefs 5 (0)
2022–2023 Moana Pasifika 16 (10)
2024 Anthem Rugby Carolina 11 (12)
Correct as of 17 September 2024
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2022– Tonga 6 (0)
Correct as of 3 October 2023

Early career

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'Apikotoa was born in Wellington and attended St Patrick's College, Silverstream, where he played both rugby and league.[4]

Rugby

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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

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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

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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.[2] He made his debut for the club on 5 April 2024 in their round 6 game against Utah Warriors.[25]

International career

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Rugby

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'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.[26][27]

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.[28] He made his international test debut for Tonga on 2 July 2022 against Fiji.[29]

League

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In 2013, 'Apikotoa played for the New Zealand Residents U18 team that played two tests against Australian Secondary Schools XIII.[30] A year later, he was selected again and played two tests against the New South Wales-based Taurahere Kiwis.[31]

References

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  1. ^ @hbmagpies (31 July 2024). "Squad 2024". Retrieved 1 August 2024 – via Instagram.
  2. ^ a b "Anthem Rugby Carolina announces roster as preseason kicks off in Charlotte". Anthem Rugby Carolina (Press release). 2 February 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Azelo and Joe join Moana Pasifika". Moana Pasifika (Press release). 9 November 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Joe Apikotoa Wellington Lions Player Profile". Wellington Lions. 2017. Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "Joe Apikotoa's rugby on the rise". Clubrugby.co.nz. 27 August 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Young prop Joe Apikotoa swaps Melbourne Storm for Wellington Lions". NZ Stuff. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  7. ^ "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.
  8. ^ "Wellington Rugby League Newsletter "Pass It On"". Wellington Rugby League (27 ed.). 15 November 2013. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  9. ^ "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.
  10. ^ "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.
  11. ^ "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.
  12. ^ "Joe Apikotoa pushes for Magpies starting berth". Hawke's Bay Today. 10 September 2018. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  13. ^ "2018 Magpies Squad Announced". Hawke's Bay Rugby Union (Press release). 8 August 2018. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  14. ^ "Highlanders to get underway in Alexandra". Highlanders (Press release). 31 January 2019. Archived from the original on 5 February 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  15. ^ "Joe Apikotoa cierra la plantilla de Ampo Ordizia". El Diario Vasco (in Spanish). 2 September 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  16. ^ "Refuerzos para ampo y Hernani". Noticias de Gipuzkoa (in Spanish). 6 December 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  17. ^ "Plenty of depth in Magpies Mitre 10 Cup rugby squad". Hawke's Bay App. 7 September 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  18. ^ "Ranfurly Shield roundabout continues". New Zealand Rugby. 4 October 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  19. ^ "Magpies crowned kings of the Championship". New Zealand Rugby. 27 November 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  20. ^ "NPC: Hawke's Bay lock away Ranfurly Shield for summer after seeing off Waikato". Stuff NZ. 23 October 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  21. ^ "More Magpies scoop Super contracts". Hawke's Bay Today. 22 January 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  22. ^ "Gallagher Chiefs named to face the Hurricanes in the Capital". Chiefs. 18 March 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  23. ^ "Super Rugby Pacific: 'This has been 26 years in the making' for Moana Pasifika". Stuff NZ. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  24. ^ "Super Rugby Pacific: Chiefs thump Moana Pasifika". NZ Herald. 19 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  25. ^ "MLR 2024: Utah Warriors vs Anthem Carolina – ARN Guide". Americas Rugby News. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  26. ^ "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.
  27. ^ "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.
  28. ^ "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.
  29. ^ "Israel Folau, Charles Piutau and Malakai Fekitoa named for test rugby returns". Rugbypass. 1 July 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  30. ^ "New Zealand U-18, U-16 league squads named". Stuff NZ. 21 September 2013. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  31. ^ "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.
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