Pita Alatini facts for kids
| Birth name | Pita Faiva-ki-moana Alatini | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 11 April 1976 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Nukuʻalofa, Tonga | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 90 kg (14 st 2 lb; 198 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | King's College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | University of Otago | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative(s) | Anthony Alatini Sam Alatini (brothers) |
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| Spouse | Megan Cassie | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | Tonica (daughter) Tiara (daughter) Trey (son) |
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Pita Faiva-ki-moana Alatini (born on April 11, 1976) is a former professional rugby union player. He played as a midfield back. Even though he was born in Tonga, he played 17 test matches for the New Zealand All Blacks between 1999 and 2001. During this time, he scored six tries.
Pita Alatini played 81 matches in New Zealand's National Provincial Championship (NPC) for four different teams. These teams were Counties-Manukau, Southland, Otago, and Wellington. He also played 72 matches in the Super 12 competition for four different teams: the Crusaders, Chiefs, Highlanders, and Hurricanes. Later in his career, he played professionally in Japan for Suntory Sungoliath and Kamaishi Seawaves.
Pita is married to Megan Alatini, who is a pop singer and actress. His brothers, Tevita, Anthony, and Sam Alatini, have all played for the Tonga national rugby union team.
| Top - 0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
Pita Alatini's Rugby Journey
Pita Alatini moved from Tonga to Auckland, New Zealand, when he was a child. He went to King's College. While at school, he played for the national secondary school rugby team in 1993 and 1994. In 1995, he played for the national under-19 team.
Early Professional Career
From 1995 to 1996, Pita played 30 matches for the Counties-Manukau team in the NPC. In 1996, he also played five matches for the Crusaders in the Super 12 competition. The next year, in 1997, he played for the New Zealand Colts team and had three Super 12 matches for the Chiefs.
Between 1997 and 1998, Alatini played for Southland in the NPC. During this time, he started to focus on playing as a midfielder. Before this, he often played as a fullback, which is a different position in rugby.
From 1998 to 2001, Pita played for the Highlanders in the Super 12. This was a very important time for him, as he became a regular player for the All Blacks.
Playing in Japan
In 2002 and 2003, Alatini played for the Hurricanes in the Super 12 and for Wellington in the NPC. After this, he was no longer chosen for the All Blacks team. In 2004, he moved to Japan to play rugby professionally for Suntory Sungoliath. In 2006, he joined another Japanese team, the Kamaishi Seawaves.
Coaching Career
In 2013, Pita Alatini started a new job as the Director of Rugby at the Pakuranga United Rugby Club in Auckland. In his first year coaching the main team, he led Pakuranga United to win their first Gallaher Shield. This was a big achievement for the club, as it was their first win in 48 years.
Playing for the All Blacks
Pita Alatini played his first game for the All Blacks on June 11, 1999. It was a match against New Zealand A at Jade Stadium, and the All Blacks won 22–11. His first official test match was on June 26, 1999, against France at Athletic Park. New Zealand won that game 54–7.
Rugby World Cup 1999
Pita was chosen to be part of the 1999 Rugby World Cup team. He played in a pool match against Italy, which the All Blacks won by a huge score of 101–3. He also came on as a substitute for Tana Umaga in the third-place playoff game against South Africa. South Africa won that match 22–18.
Later All Blacks Matches
Pita Alatini was the first-choice second five-eighth for the All Blacks during the 2000 Tri Nations Series. He also went on the All Blacks' tour to France and Italy at the end of 2000. For the test matches against France, the coaches chose Daryl Gibson instead of him because they wanted a stronger defense. Pita was a reserve player in the second test against France and started the game against Italy.
He got his spot back as the first-choice second five-eighth for the 2001 domestic tests and the 2001 Tri Nations Series. Pita played his last test match for the All Blacks on September 1, 2001. It was a close game against Australia at Stadium Australia, which Australia won 29–26.
After the 2001 Tri Nations, the All Blacks coaches changed. Pita was selected for the All Blacks one last time for a tour to Ireland and Argentina in 2001. However, he mostly played in mid-week games, as the new coaches preferred Aaron Mauger for the main test matches.
Life After Professional Rugby
In 2020, Pita Alatini appeared on a TV show called Match Fit. He was part of the first season of the show. On Match Fit, he had a very low metabolic age, which means his body was in great shape for his age. He was one of only two players to complete the program successfully.
He returned for season 2 of Match Fit in 2021 as a backup player. During a rugby scrimmage against East Coast, he dislocated his shoulder after scoring a try.
In 2024, he returned again for Match Fit: Union vs. League. Before the show started, he and Carlos Spencer had already achieved the best possible score for metabolic age, showing they were very fit.
Personal Life
Pita Alatini married Megan Alatini in 2000. They first met in 1994. They have three children: two daughters named Tonica (born May 13, 1995) and Tiara (born 2002), and one son named Trey (born 2005).
