Christian Lio-Willie
New Zealand rugby union player
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Christian Javan Lio-Willie (born 26 August 1998) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays for the Crusaders in Super Rugby and Otago in the Bunnings NPC. His playing position is loose forward.
26 August 1998
| Born | Christian Javan Lio-Willie 26 August 1998 Auckland, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 189 cm (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 111 kg (17 st 7 lb; 245 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Massey High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | University of Otago | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Early life
Lio-Willie attended Massey High School in Auckland.[1] At age 18, he moved to Dunedin to attend the University of Otago.[2] He has played club rugby for Kaikorai RFC in Dunedin.[3]
Rugby career
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]
During the 2025 Super Rugby season, Lio-Willie was a stand out player for the Crusaders with his impressive form helping the team to its 13th Super Rugby title. Playing the season at No.8 he was selected in the All Blacks 35 man squad as injury cover for Luke Jacobson.
