O For Awesome – Ayesha Leti-I’iga Scores 200th Try For Ories

Ayesha Leti-I’iga on her way to the tryline in the 2024 Women’s club rugby final, her most recent appearance for Oriental-Rongotai prior to Saturday’s match in which she scored her 200th club rugby try. Photo: Andy McArthur.

• By Adam Julian

A rugby legend was born at Porirua College in 2015. With her first touch of the ball, 16-year-old Ayesha Leti-I’iga scored a try, and she hasn’t stopped since.

Later that year, she repeated the first try feat in her debut for the Wellington Pride, for whom she has scored a record 56 tries in 43 games.

In the 2022 Rugby World Cup final, the Black Ferns won 34-31 over England at Eden Park in Auckland. Leti-I’iga scored the winning try, her second of the match, with seven minutes to go in a pressure-filled game against a side that had won a world record 30 consecutive Tests. Black Ferns Director of Rugby Sir Wayne Smith called Leti-I’iga “the best rugby player in the world.”

Leti-I’iga has scored 23 tries in 33 Tests (24 wins) for the Black Ferns despite missing more than a year after rupturing an anterior cruciate ligament in her knee in July 2023.

On Saturday at Kilbirnie Park, Leti-I’iga came on as a second-half replacement for Oriental Rongotai (Ories) in their Rebecca Liua’ana Trophy match against Pōneke.

Ahead 19-12 at halftime, the more highly fancied Magpies needed an injection of energy and got it. Leti-I’iga scored four tries in the 56-17 win.

Her second try was her 200th for Ories in 82 appearances, a stratospheric statistic unlikely to be repeated.

“I just caught the ball and put it on the line,” Leti-I’iga said with almost self-deprecating modesty.

“Tylah Reihana-Aukuso mentioned the record before the game. I wasn’t thinking about it. I’m not interested in personal accolades. I just want to do what’s right for the team.

“The plan was for me to come on in the second half. Many of the girls have been training hard all season, so it’s not fair if I just walk in. At halftime, we talked about doing better to take the opportunities we had created.”

Cell phone footage of the game was shared on the Facebook page of Pōneke coach Nehe Milner-Skudder, who scored a try in the All Blacks’ 34-17 win over Australia in the 2015 Rugby World Cup final. The video shows Leti-I’iga in jersey ten scoring a try with a swerving run that began well before halfway.

“I wasn’t playing first five. I started on the wing and moved into midfield,” Leti-I’iga explained. “We wear jerseys that fit us because we don’t always have the right numbers.”

“The try from halfway came from a chip kick. When I see space, I can play freely. At Ories, I’m back where I started, playing with my best friends. It’s always special.”

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For a while, scoring tries was profitable. Her grandfather Faaui gave her $10 for every try she scored.

“He stopped that after the first year,” Leti-I’iga laughed.

Sadly, Faaui passed away in 2019 before he could give his granddaughter $20 for winning the Rugby World Cup.

Leti-I’iga wasn’t supposed to be a rugby player. In 2009, her mother Mary Asolupe Leti-I’iga died at 35 when struck by a vehicle, leaving 11-year-old Ayesha to be raised largely by Faaui and Salafa.

Sport became a major focus, although Faaui and Salafa weren’t keen on her playing rugby because of her small stature. Her aunt, Ories prop and Porirua College girls’ rugby coach Fuamai Taumoi, eventually introduced her to the game where she became an instant star.

“I have a routine before my game. I always strap up my arm and write my mum’s name on it. It’s the first thing I do in the changing room,” Leti-I’iga said.

“Every time I score a try, on my way back to the restart, I kiss my wrist because it feels like Mum is running beside me.”

“I don’t have a favourite try because they are all team tries. Faaui taught me you get nowhere without hard work. I used to cry when he woke me up at 5 am for runs. Looking back now, I guess it was worth it.”

Mason Malagamaali’i coached Ories to Jubilee Cup glory in 2023 and had earlier led Leti-I’iga and Ories women to three Tia Passi Memorial Cup titles from 2017 to 2020. As a Life Member of Ories, he paid tribute to Black Fern #201.

“Ayesha’s God-gifted talent, hard work, and the prayers of her grandparents and family have helped forge a foundation for a career she probably never thought possible,” he said.

“Scoring 200 tries in a club rugby career is an achievement; doing it in only 82 appearances is unique and special.

“Ayesha has always remained grounded and “herself.” She is a bubbly and friendly person who plays club rugby whenever she gets the chance; she understands the value of grassroots and gives back to it.

“I’ve been fortunate to witness Ayesha develop and grow in her rugby career. It’s special. It’s hard to celebrate someone who hates being the center of attention, but we will and we will do it the ‘O’ way.”

Above: Another try scored, this time for the Hurricanes Poua against Matatu in Super Rugby Aupiki.

200: Facts & Figures 

Leti-I’iga has scored 202 tries in 82 games for Ories with tries in her last four consecutive matches.

The first of her three tries was in a 60-0 win against Wainuiomata on April 18, 2015.

She has scored 36 hat-tricks.

She has been involved in at least 69 Ories wins. In 42 of those games, Ories scored 50 or more points. Ories won 94 of 105 games between 2014 and 2021, including the Tia Passi Memorial trophy in 2014, 2017, 2019, and 2021, and the first round Rebecca Liua’ana Trophy five times

Her biggest win was 150-0 against Upper Hutt on May 13, 2016. She scored only one try in that game.

Between a 62-10 win over Old Boys University on July 7, 2017, and a 106-0 win against Paremata-Plimmerton on July 28, 2018, she scored tries in 15 consecutive matches.

She scored seven tries against Petone on June 30, 2018, and then at least three tries in each of the next three consecutive games.

Between a 63-8 win over Old Boys University in the 2017 Tia Passi Cup Memorial final and an 80-5 win over Hutt Old Boys Marist on May 5, 2018, she scored at least three tries in four consecutive games.

In 2018, she scored 41 tries in 13 games. She won the Wellington Women’s Club Player of the Year in 2017 and 2018, now known as the Erin Rush Medal.

Her record for most tries in a single game is eight against Avalon in a 114-0 win on July 25, 2020. She scored seven tries the following week in a 78-0 win against Paremata-Plimmerton and went on to score at least one try in the next twelve matches, including seven against Poneke in a 98-0 win.

On April 30, 2022, she scored seven tries and kicked four conversions for her largest personal haul of 43 points in a 98-0 win against Avalon.

The 2024 Tia Passi Memorial trophy final was drawn 24-24 between Ories and Petone. She scored three tries in that game, including two from past the halfway line. “The final went for 100 minutes. Well, mine went for 90 because I got yellow-carded,” Leti-I’iga laughed. “I got punched in the ruck when the ref wasn’t looking. I was like, ‘Hey, you can do that,’ and punched back. I shouldn’t have done that. Of course, I got caught, I’m a Black Fern.”