Born: 18 February, 1993 – Auckland Test record: 1 Test (2014) – 0 points
Hooker/back-rower Siliva Havili played one Test for New Zealand in 2014 before being part of Tonga’s climb up the international rugby league pecking order.
A product of famed rugby league nursery St Paul’s College and an Otara Scorpions junior, Havili represented Junior Kiwis in 2011-12. He also celebrated in the Warriors’ 2011 NYC grand final win among 57 appearances he made for the club’s under-20s side.
Havili debuted for Tonga at hooker in a win over Samoa midway through 2013 and played one match for the island nation at the World Cup later that year. An NRL debut for the Warriors arrived early in 2014.
Remarkably, the 21-year-old was called into Stephen Kearney’s overhauled Kiwis squad for the Anzac Test after just three first-grade games, coming off the bench in the inexperienced side’s gallant 30-18 loss in Sydney. He was selected in the Four Nations squad at the end of the season but was not called upon during New Zealand’s unbeaten campaign.
Struggling for opportunities at the Warriors, Havili joined St George Illawarra in 2016 and played 10 NRL games. Despite being overlooked for first-grade duty in 2017, Havili was chosen in Mate Ma’a Tonga’s World Cup squad and played all five games in its unforgettable run to the semi-finals.
Havili’s performances at the tournament earned a contract with Canberra and he made 80 appearances in the top flight in four seasons with the Raiders, as well as playing Tests against Samoa, Australia and New Zealand for Tonga in 2018-19.
The nuggetty forward linked with South Sydney in 2022 and played 23 games for the eventual preliminary finalists. He played in Tonga’s mid-season Test loss to New Zealand at Mt Smart Stadium and its World Cup quarter-final defeat to Samoa in Warrington.
