Family ties and hard work paying off for Leiua

(Above): Alapati Leiua on the rampage for Northern United against Marist St Pat’s in last year’s Jubilee Cup semi-final. He went try-less in this match, but in almost 50 matches for Norths between 2008-2012 he scored two tries or more in match on 15 occasions.

In the previous seventeen years of Super Rugby only the 2005 Bulls and 2009 Chiefs have made the semi-finals after losing their first three games of the season. Last Friday night at Westpac Stadium in Wellington, the Hurricanes faced the grim prospect of plummeting to a third consecutive defeat and a near impossible fight against history.

Down by six points, with eight minutes left, against the much vaunted Crusaders, the Hurricanes were in a massive hole! That was until Alapati Leiua poached an intercept and sprinted 40 metres to score the most important try of his short and promising career. Leiua’s shock-strike helped the Hurricanes steal victory by a single point, just their sixth triumph in 24 attempts, against the seven-time champions.

Leiua admits he took a calculated gamble by rushing out of the defensive line to snaffle the ball. “I saw the Crusaders do the same move in the first half and decided to go for it.” Leiua says “I am glad it worked out, the boys are trying to make smart decisions.”

Making smart decisions is something that Leiua has made a habit of. A humble attitude based on strength of family, religious faith and old-fashioned hard work are the ingredients for Leiua’s success.

Leiua who keeps a diary containing notes on his game - similar to Michael Jordon - has come a long way in a short time.

Leiua didn’t exactly follow the traditional representative path to the top, but developed an infectious passion for the game at Porirua College. Hardly a Wellington schoolboy rugby Mecca. Leiua recalls of his days at school, “I loved schoolboy rugby; I remember playing with [Crusaders centre] Robbie Freuan and a lot of the boys who went on to play for Norths. We were tight and won a lot of games.”

It’s this tightness that is a constant theme in Leiua’s life. Northern United is a well organised, family-orientated club, with plush facilities. Utilising its vast Polynesian talent base, until 2012, it has been the most successful club of the modern era in Wellington by a proverbial mile.

From 2003-2011 Norths won 133 out of 180 games, including four Jubilee Cups and six Swindle Shields. Such was Norths dominance they scored 4,318 points in seven seasons and James So’oialo, now a Samoan international, scored more points by himself than the opposition in 25 out of 54 matches for the club. Jerry Collins and Tamati Ellison reached the highest honours from the club when they represented the All Blacks.

Leiua was nothing short of a sensation. In 49 games for Norths he has scored 53 tries! At 185cm and 98kg he is far from the biggest centre, his natural position, but his incisive running and deceptive strength have caused many opposition headaches.

Leiua says Norths has played a key role in his development. “We were all mates at Norths,like a big Island family. We all feed off each other and have had great coaches."

For three years Leiua has been a regular starter for the Wellington Lions and was Wellington’s Player of the Year in 2011 and he had an equally impressive ITM Cup season in 2012.

Although he admits he is adjusting to life on the wing, Leiua is the type of player you underestimate at your peril. He has a diligent attitude, an ability to make things happen and affection for the people around him. He is a genuine family man and as Winston Churchill once said “There is no doubt that it is around the family and the home that all the greatest virtues, the most dominating virtues of human, are created, strengthened and maintained.”

•?? ?Hurricanes v Highlanders this Friday night at 7.35 pm
•?? ?Swindale Shield Round 1 Monday 1 April