Atu Moli is looking for a fresh start in Western Australia, joining the Force for the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season.
Moli, a former New Zealand U20 captain and five-time All Black, has departed the Chiefs after seven seasons and 54 appearances for the club. An eight-year stretch that saw him play less than half of the available games due to a horror run of injuries.
The youngest forward in the 2019 Rugby World Cup squad, the prop’s talent had Steve Hansen singing his praises and a huge career looked to be on the cards.
The way things have played out though has led the 28-year-old to Western Australia, where he has a chance to get his career back on track, and perhaps look towards an international appearance for Tonga.
“To be honest, I’d like to start from scratch and keep building from there,” Moli said on the Western Force’s YouTube.
“It’s just crazy coming back from these injuries, you can get to the All Blacks, it’ll humble you if you get injured and start back at the bottom, but I’m really keen to get back into it.”
The 127kg prop has seen much adversity with plenty of playing years left ahead of him, offering a grounding and considered presence in the Force locker room, where he’ll join some familiar faces.
“I was fortunate to play with Chase (Tiatia), Feleti (Kaitu’u) and Campbell (Parata) in New Zealand, got to know them and started to talk to them about the club.
“They were enjoying it, so I thought I’d come and give it a go. Crono (Force head coach Simon Cron) is a bit of a character. I’m definitely loving what he’s done with the Western Force and I’m just glad I’m here to be a part of it.
“It’s also good to have a change of scenery and have a different environment. I spent eight years in Hamilton, so it’s a good change for my family.”
The Force face another tough Super Rugby Pacific campaign in 2024. Their young roster shows plenty of potential but having finished 10th in 2023, there’s much work to be done if dreams of a playoff birth are to be realised.
The five wins the team registered this year were hard-fought encounters, including a superb result against the Brumbies in round 12, a performance that put all of the team’s promise on full display.
Moli’s experience will add valuable perspective to that promise, and the prop is keen to share that experience and rekindle his leadership skills with his new teammates.
“Everything that I’ve learned on the big stage, I’m keen to teach the young boys here.”
“I hadn’t really shown my leadership back in New Zealand so I’m keen to do something about it here.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Dad Marty was also a handy rugby player for Linwood back in the day. Great bloke. Sensational softball career.
2 Go to commentsWhat ifs are always dangerous. If you look at the game before Sam cane got sent of SA was dominating. You could make the argument the going down to 14 men rallied the troops and made them have to play to win which is always dangerous.
129 Go to commentsOmg… you are bruised And battered Benny. Stop crying … the scoreboard speaks. What a pathetic lover you are.. 🤣🤣🤣
129 Go to commentsPacific Lions, cry me a river
129 Go to commentsThis is the single worst piece of journalism I have ever seen since your last one. As a neutral, who really states that there should be an asterisk next to a win? You are an utter embarrassment to real AB fans, journalism and that joke of a house which pays you for this nonsense. Get a life, Ben.
129 Go to commentsGuys. Cancel the World Cup champions after this analysis. It changes everything. Ben knows. We’ll have to unengrave the Bokke off the trophy and hand it to the ABs, now that I’ve been enlightened about this illegitimate win. This needs to be done. Now!
129 Go to commentsBen is right here though, Springboks were woefully poor with the advantage they had throughout this game. The France match was heroic because that was an even contest this match had it taken place in Rugby Championship would have been an easy win for NZ. If anything this match should tell the Bok coaches that a lot of this team should be changed. They beat this same NZ team by record margin with the same circumstances but with a different core. They bring back the tried and tested guys and they nearly botch this game.
129 Go to commentsI knew who wrote this article from the first few words in the headline…lol. The red card actually did the ABs a favour. It galvanized them, only then did they step up a gear. Before that there was zero momentum.
129 Go to commentsFirstly the foul on Bongi was a planned move just like the NZ master plan with Bryce Lawrence you kiwis are filthy fux perhaps try to play a cleaner game next time I doubt that’s possible tho but don’t worry world rugby is on yr side they trying to take away all the BOKS strengths to help all you weakling as Jeremy Clarkson would say LA OO ZA ERR..🤣
129 Go to commentsAbsolutely spot on Ben. I certainly wouldn't gloat over a win like that. Frustrating as it is it's done and dusted and history will forever show the result.
129 Go to commentsHo hum.
129 Go to commentsNo question they were the better team. But that is the beauty of sport isn’t it!
129 Go to commentsEveryone is into Hurling in Ireland according to Porter, but only 11 of Ireland's 32 counties enter a team into the national competition. Same old blarney.
1 Go to commentsLet’s be honest. The draw and scheduling in the World Cup was a joke but South Africa found a way after having to go the hard (nearly impossible) way to the Cup Final via France and England. NZ had a hard game against France (lost) and had 5 weeks to prepare for the Quarter, 3 weeks knowing it was Ireland. NZ theerfore had to win one big game against an Irish team who played SA and then Scotland 7 days before. They won and it was de facto a semi final because they were playing a relatively weak Argentina team and it was a walk over. In the final a very rested NZ team was playing a very tired SA team and still lost. They couldn’t score more than 11 points. Put another way SA had to find a way to win while tired and they achieved that. NZ should thank their lucky stars that they fixed the scheduling in 2015 otherwise they would be dealing with a Bok treble.
129 Go to commentsPerhaps if Bongi wasn’t targeted and removed from the game in the first 3 minutes it would have been quite a different game. Maybe if NZ also faced the same competition the Boks faced to their win NZ would have looked quite different. The final score shows who outplayed who.
129 Go to commentsRubbish article! Abuladze played most of Exeters matches when fit. He got injured against Glasgow a while ago and is out for the rest of the season, thats why he hasnt played for Exeter and Georgia recently. Do some proper research next time!
1 Go to commentsGotta love it when kids throw their toys out the pram and can’t hack it with the grown ups debate. Here’s looking at you turlough! 😉🤣
148 Go to commentsThey lost the game period move on
129 Go to commentsSpringboks won! Stop winging. You can change the game however much you and your rugby colonizing IRB want to and the Springboks will win you at that too. Your mind is colonized my friend get a life
129 Go to commentsBen, nobody gets fooled anymore by selective and biased data to support an hypothesis. Games are decided on such small margins these days that you win some and lose some, and dominance is a thing of the rugby past. Look at the RWC circle of fortune…. Ireland beats SA who beat France who beat NZ who beat Ireland. And so it goes on. Match officials help to eliminate real indiscretions. If they had been with us years before, no doubt results would have been different. Remember Andy Haden’s dive from a lineout in 1978 for which a match-wining penalty was awarded? Wales should have beaten the ABs that day. They took the loss like the gentlemen they were.
129 Go to comments