Malakai Hala-Ngatai

Few positions reward physical commitment like the back row, and that is where Malakai Hala-Ngatai makes his living for Moana Pasifika in Super Rugby Pacific. A New Zealander born in January 2003, Hala-Ngatai brings a confrontational edge to the forward effort, the kind of hard-running, hard-tackling presence that Pacific rugby has long produced. As a flanker he is expected to be busy across the field, hunting the breakdown, putting in tackles and carrying directly into contact to generate momentum for those outside him. His value lies less in any single moment than in the accumulation of work over eighty minutes, the rucks cleared, the collisions won and the defensive reads made under pressure. Now establishing himself in the senior environment, he is part of a Moana Pasifika side that draws on the deep well of Pacific Island talent and aims to grow its standing in one of the most demanding club competitions in the world.