Sofai Notoa-Tipo
New Zealand rugby player (born 2001)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sofai Notoa-Tipo (né Maka; born 2 May 2001) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer who plays for the New Zealand national rugby sevens team.
| Born | 2 May 2001[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 95 kg (209 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | De La Salle College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Early life
He attended De La Salle College and played for Blues U20.[3][4]
Club career
He appeared in the National Provincial Championship playing for Auckland in 2022 prior to making the move to North Harbour.[5] He scored seven tries for Northern Harbour side in the 2024 NPC.[6]
International career
In November 2024 he was called-up to the New Zealand national rugby union sevens team for the Dubai Sevens and South Africa Sevens legs of the 2024–25 SVNS series.[7] He took the number 81 jersey in honour of his school address (De La Salle College 81 Gray Avenue, Auckland).[8] He scored his first tries with a brace in a quarter finals win over South Africa at the Dubai Sevens.[9] He was a try scorer in the third/fourth playoff at the SVNS World Championship in Los Angeles in May 2025, as Nee Zealand placed third overall.[10]
Style of play
All Blacks Sevens coach Tomasi Cama described him as having "the potential to become a great sevens player…he makes a lot of line breaks, scores a lot of tries; he understands the game well".[11]