| Full name | Sean Alfred Uilisi Halaholo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | (1990-07-06)6 July 1990 (age 34) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Auckland, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 105 kg (231 lb; 16 st 7 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Mount Albert Grammar School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sean Alfred Uilisi Halaholo (born 6 July 1990 in New Zealand) is a professionalrugby union player, who currently plays as acentre forBay of Plenty in New Zealand's domesticNational Provincial Championship competition. He previously played forCardiff Rugby in theUnited Rugby Championship andEuropean Professional Club Rugby competitions, became aSuper Rugby champion with theHurricanes and played forSouthland andWaikato in the NPC.
Halaholo was born inAuckland, New Zealand, to parents of Tongan descent, but has representedWales internationally after becomingeligible to play for that country on residency grounds.
Halaholo attendedMount Albert Grammar School and played for the school's 1st XV team that won the Auckland Secondary Schools title in 2007[1] and were runners-up in New Zealand'sNational First XV Championship that same year.[2]
After finishing secondary school, Halaholo began his premier club rugby career with Grammar Carlton before moving to Silverdale and then returning to his junior club Suburbs.[1]
It was while playing for Suburbs that Halaholo caught the attention ofSouthland selectors and he headed to New Zealand's far south to gain hisITM Cup break with the Stags in2013.[3] He made a big impact inInvercargill and after two seasons with the Stags, he was named in theHurricanes squad for the2015 Super Rugby season.[4]
Stuck behind the All Blacks midfield combination ofMa'a Nonu andConrad Smith, Halaholo made only three appearances off the bench for the Hurricanes that season. For2016, Halaholo was offered a wider training squad contract. He started the season on the bench, but finished it in the starting team that won the Hurricanes' first Super Rugby title, defeating theLions 20–3 in thefinal atWestpac Stadium.[5][6]
Halaholo signed withWaikato for the2016 Mitre 10 Cup season. He made his debut for the province on 21 August 2016 againstTasman and went on to play ten games for the Mooloos.[7]
After finishing his season with Waikato, Halaholo joinedCardiff on a three-year contract.[5] He played his firstPro 12 game for Cardiff on 4 November 2016 in a 34–28 win overBenetton Treviso, scoring the match-winning try on debut.[8] HisEuropean Rugby Challenge Cup debut followed on 10 December 2016 againstBath.[9] On 11 May 2018, he was part of the Cardiff team that lifted the Challenge Cup after beatingGloucester 31–30 in the2017–18 European Rugby Challenge Cup Final.[10]
In May 2024, Cardiff announced that Halaholo would be leaving the club and return to New Zealand, having played 112 games for the club.[11]
Back in New Zealand, Halaholo joinedBay of Plenty for the2024 Bunnings NPC season. With his new team, he reached the NPC final, which they narrowly lost 23–20 toWellington in extra time.[12]
Halaholo was named in the 2007New Zealand Secondary Schools team alongside futureAll BlacksTawera Kerr-Barlow,Elliot Dixon andCharlie Ngatai for their tour of Australia.[13]
In 2009, Halaholo played forTonga U20 at theIRB Junior World Championship in Japan.[1]
Halaholo was named in theWales squad for the first time for the uncapped international against theBarbarians on 30 November 2019 after qualifying for Wales through the 3-year residency rule,[14] but was ruled out of the match with a long-term knee injury that he suffered while playing a Challenge Cup match with Cardiff againstLeicester Tigers on 23 November 2019.[15]
Following injuries to fellow midfieldersJohnny Williams,Jonathan Davies andGeorge North, Halaholo was recalled to the Wales squad for their2021 Six Nations Championship match againstScotland on 13 February 2021.[16] WithNick Tompkins andOwen Watkin picked to start, Halaholo was named on the bench for the game.[17] He made his international debut in the 32nd minute, when fullback Leigh Halfpenny went off for a head injury assessment.[18] He played a total of 10 tests for Wales.[12]