External links
- Christian Lio-Willie at ItsRugby.co.uk
Otago – current squad | |
|---|---|
| Forwards | |
| Backs | |
| Head coach | |
| Birth name | Christian Javan Lio-Willie | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 26 August 1998 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Auckland, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 187 cm (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 109 kg (17 st 2 lb; 240 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Massey High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | University of Otago | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Christian Javan Lio-Willie (born 26 August 1998) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays for Otago in the National Provincial Championship (NPC). His playing position is loose forward.
Lio-Willie attended Massey High School in Auckland. [1] Aged 18, he moved to Dunedin to attend the University of Otago. [2] He has played club rugby for Kaikorai RFC in Dunedin. [3]
Lio-Willie joined the Otago wider training squad in 2020; [4] [5] however, he would not make an appearance that season.
In 2021 Lio-Willie made his debut for Otago in a 26-19 win against to Southland on 7 August where he made a rampaging break in the 78th minute that set up the winning try of the match. [6] On 15 October he played 42 minutes in a 24–13 win against Northland. [7]
As of 2021, Lio-Willie is in his fifth year studying dentistry at the University of Otago. He is of Samoan descent. [2]
The National Provincial Championship (NPC) is an annual round-robin rugby union competition in men's domestic New Zealand rugby. First played in 1976, it is the second highest level of competition in New Zealand alongside the Ranfurly Shield. It is organised by New Zealand Rugby (NZR) and since 2021, it has been known as the Bunnings NPC after Bunnings, its naming rights sponsor. A concurrent women's tournament is also held, the Farah Palmer Cup.
Rugby Southland is the provincial rugby union who govern the Southland region of New Zealand. Their headquarters are at Rugby Park Stadium in Invercargill, which is also the home ground of the union's professional team, the Southland Stags who compete in the Mitre 10 Cup Championship Division and challenge for the Ranfurly Shield.
The Otago Rugby Football Union is the official governing body of rugby union for the Otago region of New Zealand. The union is based in the city of Dunedin, and its home ground is Forsyth Barr Stadium. The top representative team competes in the ITM Cup, New Zealand's top provincial competition. The union was to have been liquidated in March 2012. However a deal involving the Dunedin City Council allowed it to keep operating. Otago have won the Ranfurly Shield on seven occasions. They were the National provincial championship winners in 1991 and 1998. They have a proud record playing international teams, having defeated South Africa and the British and Irish Lions.
Martin Banks is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays for Southland in the Bunnings NPC. His position is First five-eighth and occasionally Fullback.
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