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One week after earning his first ever HSBC Dream Team selection in Hamilton, Folau Niua has reached another career milestone. Sydney marked the 63rd HSBC Sevens Series tournament in his career, which sees Niua overtaking Zack Test as the most-capped Men’s Eagles Sevens player of all-time.
Niua’s international sevens career began at the Gold Coast Sevens in November 2011. He would play in eight of nine stops on the circuit that season and has missed only seven tournament since his debut. In fact since the start of the 2014-15 season Niua has missed only one tournament – his absence in Singapore last season ending a streak of 36 consecutive HSBC events.
Over the course of his career the 34-year-old has played in 324 matches on the circuit, scoring 621 points including 64 tries. While he has largely been considered second-choice kicker in that time, he has 149 conversions on his record. The other three points came via the only penalty kick of Niua’s sevens career, scored at Tokyo in March 2012.
Other sevens accomplishment include the 2013 Sevens World Cup in Moscow, the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, and the 2018 Sevens World Cup in San Francisco.
The dual international has also won 17 caps for his country in the XV-a-side game. Eight have been starts with six in the midfield and two at fullback. Niua was part of the 2015 Rugby World Cup squad, starting against South Africa in the last of his test appearances.
