| Full name | Pouri Gordon Rakete-Stones | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | (1997-06-17)17 June 1997 (age 27) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Auckland, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 123 kg (271 lb; 19 st 5 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Napier Boys' High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Pouri Rakete-Stones (born 17 June 1997) is aNew Zealandrugby player who plays as aprop for theHurricanes inSuper Rugby andHawke's Bay in New Zealand's domesticNational Provincial Championship competition.[1][2]
Rakete-Stones attended and played rugby forNapier Boys High School. During his two years in Napier Boys' First XV team, he played mostly athooker, but he currently prefers playing at prop.[3] He also played age-grade rugby forHawke's Bay and was the inaugural winner of the Graeme Lowe award for the Hawke's Bay Rugby Academy Player of the Year in 2016.[4]
In 2015, Rakete-Stones was named in the Hurricanes U18 team to play their Crusaders U18 counterparts.[5]
In 2017, Rakete-Stones was - for the first time - named in theHawke's Bay squad for theMitre 10 Cup.[6] He made his Magpies debut, off the bench, on 19 August 2017 againstSouthland.[7] While he played his first two seasons mostly at tightheadprop, in 2018 all off the bench,[8] he has since established himself as a regular starter at loosehead prop.
On 12 November 2019, theHurricanes announced their squad for the2020 Super Rugby season, which for the first time included Pouri Rakete-Stones.[9] Rakete-Stones earned his first full contract because of his excellent form for Hawke's Bay in the Mitre 10 Cup. Particularly his ability to cover both loosehead and tighthead prop, as well as being a strong scrummager and strong ball carrier, were highlighted in the announcement.[10] He made his Super Rugby debut on 2 February 2020 against theStormers inCape Town,South Africa.[11] Just over two years later, on 5 March 2022, he scored his first Super Rugby try in a game against theHighlanders.[12]
Despite not being part of the group of players invited to attend theNew Zealand Under-20 development camps that year, Rakete-Stones was named in the squad for the2016 Oceania Rugby Under 20 Championship.[13] He played in one of the two matches of that year's series againstAustralia.[14] A year later, he was again part of the New Zealand Under-20 squad for the2017 Oceania Rugby Under 20 Championship, which that year consisted of tests against Australia,Fiji andSamoa. He played in all three games and New Zealand retained the Oceania title.[15]
On 8 May 2017, Rakete-Stones was named in the New Zealand Under-20 squad for the2017 World Rugby Under 20 Championship inGeorgia.[16] He played in all New Zealand's games, except the first pool game. He scored two tries during the tournament, one of them in the record 64-17 win overEngland in the final. New Zealand claimed its 6thWorld Rugby U20 Championship title that year.[17]
Rakete-Stones played for the New Zealand Universities team that toured Japan, in 2018.[18]
In 2019, Rakete-Stones - who is ofNgāpuhi descent - was called into theMāori All Blacks squad for the two-test series againstFiji as an injury replacement forBen May.[19] He made his Māori All Blacks debut, off the bench, in the second match inRotorua.[20] On 5 December 2020, Rakete-Stones earned his first start for the Māori All Blacks - replacing injuredMarcel Renata - in a one-off match againstMoana Pasifika inHamilton.[21]
On 26 October 2022, after an outstandingNPC season playing forHawke's Bay, Rakete-Stones was called into theAll Blacks XV squad that was named earlier that month for two matches againstIreland A and theBarbarians during their Northern Tour.[22] He made his debut for the side – via the bench – on 13 November 2022 against the Barbarians.[23]