Josh_Kaifa

Josh Kaifa

Josh Kaifa

New Zealand rugby union player

Josh Kaifa (born 21 July 1992) is a New Zealand rugby union player, who currently plays as a loose forward for Hawke's Bay in New Zealand's domestic National Provincial Championship competition[1] and Zebre in the United Rugby Championship.[2]

Quick Facts Full name, Date of birth ...

Early career

Kaifa hails from Auckland, where he attended Onehunga High School. He played for the school's 1st XV team alongside future Auckland and Hawke's Bay teammate Stacey Ili.[3]

After leaving school, he moved to Australia where he played for Melbourne club Footscray in the Dewar Shield competition. During that time, in 2012, he played for – and captained – the Victoria Under 20 team in an interstate tournament, including a 42–5 win over Queensland Country in the final.[4]

The following year, he moved to Sydney where he played two seasons for the Parramatta Two Blues in the Shute Shield competition. He made his debut for Parramatta on 6 April 2013 against Sydney University[5] and played a total of 36 games for the club.[6]

He returned to New Zealand in 2015, where he played for – and captained – Manukau Rovers in the Auckland club rugby competition.[7] On 27 July 2015, Kaifa was named in the Auckland B squad.[8] At the end of the season, he was named the Auckland B player of the year.[9] A year later, he was named the Auckland Club player of the year.[10]

Kaifa is the cousin of former Australia hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau.[4]

Senior career

Kaifa was named in the Auckland squad for the 2016 Mitre 10 Cup season.[11] He made his debut for the province, via the bench, against Northland on 26 August 2016.[3][12] He earned his first start for Auckland against Bay of Plenty on 25 September, that year.[13]

In 2017, Kaifa missed out on a spot in the Auckland's Mitre 10 Cup squad, but still made two appearances for the province as an injury replacement.[14]

In 2018, he moved to Hawke's Bay, where he played for Clive Rugby & Sports Club in the province's club rugby competition.[15] On 8 August 2018, he was named in the Hawke's Bay squad for the 2018 Mitre 10 Cup season.[16] He made his first appearance and start for the province on 19 August 2018 against Southland and scored a try on debut.[17] Since that game, he's been a regular in the Hawke's Bay match day 23.

Since his arrival in Hawke's Bay, Kaifa played several games for the Hurricanes Development team,[18][19] but wasn't offered a Super Rugby contract. However, he received a call-up to train with the Crusaders during their preseason ahead of the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season and played in the franchise's preseason game against the Highlanders on 4 February 2022.[20]

Kaifa made his Super Rugby debut on 19 March 2022 for Moana Pasifika against the Chiefs, after coming into the squad in place of Jack Lam.[21]

On 20 February 2024, Zebre announced that the club had signed Kaifa as an injury replacement until the end of the 2023–24 United Rugby Championship season.[2] He made his debut for the club on 1 March 2024 in their round 11 game against Munster.[22][23]

References

  1. [1]
    "2023 Magpies squad release". Hawke's Bay Rugby Union. 5 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  2. [2]
    "Josh Kaifa rinforza il pacchetto di mischia delle Zebre" [Josh Kaifa strengthens Zebra scrum pack]. Zebre Parma (Press release) (in Italian). 20 February 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  3. [3]
    "Fonoti poised for first Auckland start". Auckland Rugby (Press release). 25 August 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  4. [4]
    "Rugby rebel Josh Kaifa embraces Footscray springboard". Star Weekly. 14 August 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  5. [5]
    "Shute Shield Round 1 Preview: Woodies kick off new season against up and coming Rebels". NSW Rugby. 3 April 2013. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  6. [6]
    "Josh Kaifa Itsrugby.co.uk Player Statistics". itsrugby.co.uk. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  7. [7]
    "Ponsonby have the bye this weekend after devastating loss to Manukau". Stuff NZ. 22 April 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  8. [8]
    "Auckland B squad named". Auckland Rugby (Press release). 27 July 2015. Archived from the original on 29 July 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  9. [9]
    "Rugby: Polwart takes top gong at ARU awards". NZ Herald. 29 October 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  10. [10]
    "2016 season celebrated at Auckland Rugby Awards". Auckland Rugby. 26 October 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  11. [11]
    "Mitre10 Cup Squad Announced for 2016". Auckland Rugby (Press release). 18 July 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  12. [12]
    "PREVIEW: Auckland v Northland". mitre10cup.co.nz. 25 August 2016. Archived from the original on 15 November 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  13. [13]
    "Nanai and Visinia return for Auckland". Auckland Rugby (Press release). 23 September 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  14. [14]
    "Settled Auckland line-up to face Taniwha". Auckland Rugby (Press release). 24 August 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  15. [15]
    "Rugby: Boswell-Wakefield returns to Magpies nest". Hawke's Bay Today. 10 April 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  16. [16]
    "2018 Magpies Squad Announced". Hawke's Bay Rugby Union (Press release). 8 August 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  17. [17]
    "Hawke's Bay holds off Southland despite playing with 13 men". Stuff NZ (Press release). 19 August 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  18. [18]
    "Hurricanes Development to face Japan A". Hurricanes (Press release). 24 April 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  19. [19]
    "Hurricanes Hunters squad to take on Blues A named". Hurricanes (Press release). 6 March 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  20. [20]
    "Crusaders team named for first pre-season game in Weston". Crusaders (Press release). 2 February 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  21. [21]
    "Moana Pasifika Named For Round 5 With Gallagher Chiefs". Moana Pasifika (Press release). 17 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  22. [22]
    "Le Zebre strappano uno storico punto di bonus in casa del Munster" [Zebre snatch historic bonus point at Munster's home]. Zebre Parma (in Italian). 1 March 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  23. [23]
    "URC Origin Round: Round 11 Team Announcements". United Rugby Championship. 2 March 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
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