Liana Mikaele-Tu'u

BIOGRAPHY

Black Fern #227

Liana Mikaele-Tu’u made her debut in the Farah Palmer Cup for Hawke’s Bay while still at Hastings Girls’ High School in 2019. The teenager moved to Auckland for university and continued to rise in the ranks. After just nine games for the Auckland Storm she was selected by the Black Ferns for the 2021 Northern Tour.

She came off the bench in the Black Ferns 100th test against England and performed strongly in a lost cause. She started the remaining three tests on tour earning praise for her grit, athleticism and being nominated for Black Ferns Player of the Year.

“I knew I had a lot of great loosies around me so my goal was to train hard and do all I could do to be considered for the test line-up.”

“My debut was very special but man it was a fast game when I got on. I’ve never experienced that level of intensity before. England was very clinical. France had more free play which meant it felt like we were chasing the whole time.”

Mikaele-Tu’u first played rugby when she was in Year 11. It was the year her high school, Hastings Girls’, finally formed a First XV and was coached by legendary Black Ferns halfback Emma Jensen. In Year 12, she scored a hat-trick of tries in the 2018 Hawke’s Bay secondary schoolgirls final, but it wasn’t until 2019 when she helped the Hawke’s Bay Tui make the Farah Palmer Cup championship final. It was then her considerable netball ambitions were put on the backburner.

In 2020 she relocated to Auckland to study physiotherapy at University and joined College Rifles. Commanding form saw her quickly selected for the Auckland Storm who she helped make the Farah Palmer Cup semi-finals.

Unfortunately, Auckland was stuck in COVID lockdown for 107 days in 2021 preventing the Storm from finishing the Farah Palmer Cup. Their season was abandoned after just four games which included strong wins over Bay of Plenty (44-12), Otago (39-15) and Counties Manukau (13-10). On the recommendation of trainer James Young, Mikaele-Tu’u kept fit with the unusual method of pushing cars.

“It was a Mazda Demio so it wasn’t that heavy. I was doing it at least twice a week for an hour. I found an open car park and I knew there were a few people watching me thinking I was crazy. I didn’t have permission to be there and a couple of times it rained heavily. I was lucky to have the support of my flatmates Teresa Hipa and Sharmila Tautari.”

The support of a rugby family has been invaluable for Liana. Her father Tamiano played for Samoa while her brothers (both twins) Antonio and Marino are professional players. In May 2021 Liana played for the Blues against the Chiefs making her and Marino the first brother/sister duo to play Super Rugby.

Fellow Black Fern Maiakawanakaulani Roos is a close friend and together the pair are mentors and role models at Tamaki College.

“We have a chat with the kids about why they’re not going to class or even turning up to school. It’s important for them to have a face and voice that isn’t necessarily the teacher. It's cool when you identify kids who are struggling and then you see improvement. Giving back to the community is something I believe in.”

*The feats of All Black Keith Murdoch with cars was the subject of both acclaim and urban myth. Otago rep Roger House once broke down after training at Tahuna Park and it’s believed Murdoch in a ute accomped with a tow rope dragged the broken down vehicle with one-arm to the home of House. Prominent travel writer Bob McKerrow once wrote: “We had a great after match function, and after consuming huge quantities of beer, Keith offered to drive me home in his olive green Mini Minor. Imagine a 130 kg hulk of muscle getting into a small mini. About 30 mins later, he didn't quite make a corner somewhere south of Cherry Farm and the car slid off the road into a grassy ditch. I offered to help Keith manhandle the car back onto the road. He glared at me with disdain. "Leave it alone boy" he said, "I'll do it myself." With that said, Murdoch lifted, bounced, wrenched and slid the mini up the side of a 3 metre ditch, skewed it onto the road, straightened the car up like a city slicker straightening his tie, and wiped his hand on the back of his tight shorts.”

Profile by Adam Julian