Michael Fatialofa

Michael Fatialofa (born 14 September 1992) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a lock for Worcester Warriors in the Premiership.

Early career

Born in Auckland, Fatialofa was educated at Mount Albert Grammar School in his hometown where he played first XV rugby for 3 years and helped them to lift the Auckland Schools title in 2010. Rated as one of the top New Zealand lock prospects at the time, it came as something of a surprise when he opted to move to the country's far south to play club rugby with the Invercargill Rugby Club (Blues) in Southland after he'd finished high school.

Senior career

He spent the first 4 years of his senior career playing provincial rugby for with whom he racked up 36 appearances. His first season with the Stags saw him play 3 times as they were relegated from the ITM Cup Premiership. The men from Invercargill finished 4th on the Championship log for the next three seasons which saw them qualify for the promotion playoffs, however, each time they lost at the semi-final stage to the eventual champions, going down to , and respectively. In 2013 and 2014, he was a key figure in Southland's line up, playing all 22 matches across both seasons.

He moved back home to ahead of the 2015 ITM Cup with the switch seeing him join one of New Zealand's traditional rugby powerhouses.

Four years of toil with Southland and an impressive season with Auckland saw him finally earn a Super Rugby contract with the Wellington-based ahead of the 2016 Super Rugby season. His first year in New Zealand's capital turned out to be a roaring success as he formed an impressive second row partnership with Vaea Fifita as the 'Canes, beaten finalists in 2015, went one better in 2016 and were crowned Super Rugby champions following a 20-3 victory over South African side, the in the tournament final. Fatialofa played 15 times during his debut Super Rugby campaign. On 4 January 2020 he suffered a serious neck injury in a match against Saracens. He underwent surgery, and left intensive care on 23 January after which he was told to prepare for life in a wheelchair. In fact he was able to walk unaided by 21 March 2020; a recovery his wife described as miraculous: "proof that God is never limited to human wisdom."

International career

He was a New Zealand Schools representative in 2010.

On 5 November 2016, he featured for the Barbarians in their 31-31 draw against at Wembley Stadium. He played the entire 80 minutes in the number 5 jersey in a side containing his Hurricanes team-mates, Reggie Goodes and Brad Shields.

Career honours

Southland

• Ranfurly Shield - 2011

Hurricanes

Super Rugby - 2016

Auckland

• Mitre 10 cup - 2018

Super Rugby statistics

Season Team Games Starts Sub Mins Tries Cons Pens Drops Points Yel Red 2016 15 14 1 993 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Total 15 14 1 993 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Personal life

Fatialofa is a committed Christian. He is married to Tatiana: he and his wife attend Freedom Church in Worcester.