Michael Alaalatoa


Michael Savea Ala'alatoa is a Samoan rugby union player who currently plays as a prop for the in the international Super Rugby competition. Alaalatoa was eligible to play international rugby for Australia through birth and New Zealand through residency, prior to his international debut for Samoa in 2019.

Early life

Born into a rugby household where father Vili was a member of the squad for the 1991 Rugby World Cup, Alaalatoa was quickly introduced into the sporting world and played rugby, volleyball and cricket in his childhood.

Career

Rugby was where he excelled and he played three years in the Newington College First XV. He made his way through the ranks in the New South Wales Shute Shield, initially with Southern Districts and later West Harbour. Some impressive performances at that level saw him become a regular member of the Waratahs wider training squad in 2014.
An injury to regular front-rower Paddy Ryan saw Alaalatoa called up to the Waratahs first team for the final round of league matches in the 2014 Super Rugby season. He made his debut as a second-half replacement in the Waratahs 34-3 victory over the in Brisbane.
Leading up to the 2015 ITM Cup Alaalatoa moved to New Zealand and signed to play for where he had a solid season that earned him a 2016 super rugby contract with the

International

Alaalatoa was a member of the Samoa Under 20 side that competed in the 2011 IRB Junior World Championship.
On 23 August 2019, he was named in Samoa's 34-man training squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, before being named in the final 31 on 31 August.