Mele Hufanga
Mele Hufanga (born 18 October 1994) is a New Zealand rugby league player. She has represented Tonga internationally in rugby league.[1][2]
| Date of birth | 18 October 1994 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 93 kg (205 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rugby league career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Wing, Centre | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Biography
Rugby union
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
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
- Stanley, Ashley (25 May 2021). "Super Rugby: Culture and values a winning recipe for Moana Pasifika". Stuff. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - "MELE HUFANGA - Tackling Pasifika health challenges head-on". www.thecoconet.tv. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - "Talented squad selected for 2020 Farah Palmer Cup Campaign". Counties Manukau Rugby Football Union. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - "Counties Manukau: PREVIEW 2020". allblacks.com. 2 September 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - "Takiwhitu Tuturu has provided an ideal training ground for NZ". Planet Sevens. 19 April 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - "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.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - "Inaugural Super Rugby Aupiki squads announced". www.voxy.co.nz. 4 November 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - "Women's Super Rugby squads announced for 2022". ClubRugby.nz. 4 November 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - "19 Auckland Rugby players named in Super Rugby Aupiki squads". www.aucklandrugby.co.nz. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - Burnes, Campbell (15 March 2022). "Blues full of merit in downing Matatū". superrugby.co.nz. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - 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.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - "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.