‘He’s a proud Samoan man’: Lealiifano set to sign with Moana Pasifika
Moana Pasifika have made their first star signing, with former Wallabies playmaker Christian Lealiifano set to join the new Super Rugby franchise for its debut season.
The Herald can reveal Lealiifano is set to be announced as the club’s franchise star as early as next week.
Sources with knowledge of the situation told the Herald the new, Auckland-based franchise beat Lealiifano’s former club, the ACT Brumbies, to the 34-year-old’s signature.
Lealiifano last played for the Wallabies at the 2019 World Cup, where he started at five-eighth in Michael Cheika’s final match as coach – a quarter-final defeat to England.
His rise back to the top of the playmaking tree within Australian rugby capped a remarkable comeback, as his career appeared to be over when he was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2016.
Following successful treatment, Lealiifano signed with Irish club Ulster, before returning to the Brumbies and eventually, the Wallabies.
He has plied his trade for Japanese Top League club NTT Communications Shining Arcs in the two years since the 2019 World Cup, but sources with knowledge of the discussion said the former Brumbies captain was eager to be closer to friends and family.
The coach who made Lealiifano Brumbies captain in 2019, Dan McKellar, told the Herald the 34-year-old would excel at the foundation franchise.
“He’s a great captain, leads through his actions and he’ll have a real presence on that Pasifika group,” McKellar said.
“It’s great. Good, experienced players like that, that want to compete at this level, it’s good for the competition, and it’s good for the young players that will be able to bounce ideas around and learn off someone like Christian Lealiifano.”
While he is far closer to the end of his career than the start, sources with knowledge of the Wallabies’ thinking told the Herald Lealiifano could force his way into the national fold, should his form justify a place in front of Quade Cooper, James O’Connor or Noah Lolesio.