Experienced hooker Leni Apisai rolling with the Lions

Leni Apisai was back playing a full season of club rugby for Paremata-Plimmerton this year. Photo: Stewart Baird.

• By Steven White

The Wellington Lions were leading Taranaki 21-19 with two minutes to play on Sunday afternoon when they sealed the win in the wet with a textbook 20-metre rolling maul try in the far corner.

Replacement hooker Leni Apisai was the try-scorer on the ground he has played so much college, club and representative rugby on in the past, having held the ball at the back of the advancing Lions pack for all of 30 seconds.

“Leading into that game, the coaches put a lot of emphasis on our bench coming on and doing a job and set piece was an area we wanted to target,” said Apisai. “So it was awesome to nail that scrum, which led to the penalty and the lineout drive and the try at the end.”

He rated it as one of his favourite tries. “The statistic came up saying I had only scored 14 tries throughout my career so there are not many to choose from but that is definitely up there!”

The try scoring celebration certainly indicated that. “I thought we were up by two scores with that try, that is why I was so pumped. Then I got back to halfway and looked up at the scoreboard and saw were only up by seven.”

The conditions were tough. “I have never seen Jerry Collins Stadium in that state. The boys spoke about it being in similar conditions to when they played Northland [losing 6-15 in 2022] but I wasn’t with them then. That was one of the wettest and muddiest games I have had to play, but in saying that I have played in some wet games out at the Polo Ground against Ories!”

Apisai is back in the Lions squad this year after playing 41 NPC matches for Auckland over five seasons. He was a try-scorer for Auckland in 2020 against Wellington in a 21-31 loss to the Lions. He previously played 29 NPC matches for Wellington between 2014-17.

After a colourful decade-long Super Rugby career, playing for four sides and being involved training with two more, Apisai is back fulltime in Wellington. His partner and young family and his new career as a residential youth worker at the Epuni home in the Hutt Valley are his priorities.

“I started that job back in December, and that is what I was planning on transitioning into before Soaks [Alando Soakai] gave me a call around playing for the Lions again.”

He is coming off a full season of club rugby playing for Paremata-Plimmerton.

“This year was the first real opportunity of my career where I could go back to club rugby and just enjoy it and to play with my mates. That was the biggest thing – I wasn’t trying to get a contract anywhere, I wasn’t currently contracted with anyone, so it was literally just about getting together with my mates after a week at work and playing hard and then having a laugh with them.”

Apisai said the depth of hookers in the Lions squad is a bonus.

“Usually teams in this competition struggle to find two hookers, and we are lucky to have four guys capable of playing. It creates good competition between us and keeps us honest, making sure we are trying to get better.”

As well as Apisai and current starting hooker Penieli Poasa, HOBM pair James O’Reilly and Harry Press are currently injured.

There is also Asofo Aumua nominally in the squad, but who is currently with the All Blacks.

Then there is Dane Coles, the team’s skills coach. “Colesy has been awesome in the group. He only just recently finished playing, so he is still up to date with all the technical things, and he is a great guy and there’s a lot of banter going on when we are getting together.”

This coming Sunday the Lions will be playing to extend this perfect start on the points table against the Manawatu Turbos.

Just last season, Apisai scored two tries playing for Auckland against the Turbos in a 31-33 loss, so knows they are not to be taken lightly.

“We are going into this week focusing a lot on ourselves and how we can play well. We understand that if we can give Manawatu a sniff like we did to Taranaki it will be hard to come back from.

“Regardless of how their season is going, when they come up against the big city teams like Auckland and Wellington, they get up for it. Because a win against the giants will make their season.”

Aged 28, it seems like Apisai has been around the rugby scene for longer than he has.

In total, Apisai has played 46 Super Rugby games, made up of 19 each for the Hurricanes 2016-22 and the Blues 2018-21, one for the Sunwolves in 2020 (before Covid 1.0 hit) and seven for the Highlanders in 2022-23. He has also played pre-season Super Rugby for the Chiefs in 2022 and spent a brief time training with the Crusaders as injury cover, also in 2022. That’s all five New Zealand teams, plus one overseas team.

To add to that, he also played one match for a Moana Pasifika XV against the Māori All Blacks in December 2020 in that team’s first ever match.

As far back as 2012, Apisai was the Player of the Tournament at the Hurricanes U16 tournament.

At the time he was at Aotea College, but he transferred to Wellington College for his final year in 2013 and helped that school win the First XV Premiership when Pakai Turia kicked six penalties and Nelson Asofa-Solomona scored a try in the 25-22 win over St Pat’s Silverstream.

Along with Wes Goosen, Apisai was selected in the NZ Secondary Schools team in 2013, in a side that beat Australia 17-16.

Apisai playing for Wellington  College in the 2013 Premiership First XV final.

He played a handful of club games for his former club Northern United in 2014, before getting the call-up to the Wellington XV and made his full Wellington debut against Manawatu in a pre-season match at the start of August 2014. His NPC debut was for Wellington against Waikato that year – aged 18.

He was the captain of the New Zealand U20s in 2016, the year he first made the Hurricanes. He also played for the Maori All Blacks on their end of year tour that same year.

Apisai on debut for Wellington against Waikato in 2014

That is a lot to be proud of in the past. What about the future?

“The plan is to finish this season and go back to working as a youth worker again. If something pops up, I will definitely consider it but I am getting towards the back end of my playing career.

“A lot of it is also staying here in Wellington with my family, I have always travelled to where I have needed to. My priorities now are with my family and my partner.”

For now, he is motivated to help the Wellington Lions out as much as possible on and off the field throughout the remainder of this NPC campaign and then see where it takes him after that.

Wellington Lions v Manawatu Turbos, Jerry Collins Stadium, Sunday 2.05pm.

Watch Leni Apisai’s recent appearance on the Huddy Hui show:

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Wellington v Manawatu the history, and the 1981 Ranfurly Shield match