Samiuela Lousi (born 20 July 1991) is a professional dual-code rugby player who plays as a lock for United Rugby Championship club Scarlets. Born in New Zealand, he represents Tonga at international level after qualifying on ancestry grounds.[2]

Sam Lousi
Lousi representing the New Zealand Warriors during the NSW Cup
Personal information
Full nameSamiuela Lousi
Born (1991-07-20) 20 July 1991 (age 33)
Auckland, New Zealand
Height1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)
Weight121 kg (267 lb; 19 st 1 lb)
Playing information
Rugby league
PositionSecond-row, Prop
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2012–2014 New Zealand Warriors 3 0 0 0 0
Rugby union
PositionLock
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2015–2016 Waratahs 18 0 0 0 0
2015 NSW Country Eagles 6 0 0 0 0
2016–2019 Wellington 22 3 0 0 15
2017–2019 Hurricanes 27 2 0 0 10
2019– Scarlets 61 8 0 0 40
Total 134 13 0 0 65
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2019– Tonga 14 1 0 0 5
Source: [1]
As of 28 August 2023

Early life

edit

Lousi was born in Auckland, New Zealand. He is the younger brother of Sione Lousi who played international rugby league for Tonga.

A Bay Roskill Vikings and Richmond Rovers junior, Lousi was educated at St Paul's College in Auckland. He played for the New Zealand Warriors Toyota Cup squad, being part of their grand final winning squads in 2010 and 2011. He finished his Toyota Cup career with 43 games and 11 tries.[3]

Lousi represented the Junior Kiwis rugby league team in 2010 and 2011.

Club career

edit

Rugby league

edit

Lousi signed with Warriors until the end of the 2013 season and was the tallest and heaviest player in the squad.[3][4] He spent the 2012 season playing for the Auckland Vulcans in the NSW Cup before making his National Rugby League debut in round 20 as a last minute replacement for Steve Rapira, who suffered an injury in pre-match warm ups. Lousi had played a game for the Vulcans earlier in the day.[5]

Rugby union

edit

Lousi signed with the NSW Waratahs for the 2015 season but, after gaining four caps, he suffered a shoulder injury which ended his Super Rugby campaign.[2] He joined the New South Wales Country Eagles team in the National Rugby Championship for the 2015 season. In 2016, he joined Sydney club Southern Districts. In 2019, he agreed to join Scarlets. In that same year he was selected to play for Tonga in the Rugby World Cup in Japan. Lousi was named the Scarlets' fans and players' player of the year in the 2021-22 season.[6] He signed a contract extension with the Scarlets in April 2024.[7]

References

edit
  1. ^ Sam Lousi rugbyleagueproject.org
  2. ^ a b Robinson, Georgina (2 April 2015). "Sam Lousi ruled out for Super Rugby season". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  3. ^ a b Sam Lousi rleague.com
  4. ^ Young giant set to reach new heights Archived 3 February 2013 at archive.today taimionline.com, 12 September 2011
  5. ^ Injury report encouraging ahead of Perth trip warriors.co.nz, 22 July 2012
  6. ^ "Scarlets lock Lousi signs new contract". BBC Sport. 9 April 2024. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  7. ^ "Tonga lock Sam Lousi pens new Scarlets deal". www.rugbypass.com. 10 April 2024. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
edit