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Isaia Walker-Leawere (born 16 July 1997) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays as a lock for the Hurricanes in Super Rugby and Hawke's Bay in New Zealand's domestic National Provincial Championship competition.

Early life and career

Walker-Leawere hails from Ruatoria, in the Gisborne Region in the northeastern corner of New Zealand's North Island. He's the son of Kele Leawere, who played as a lock for Fiji.

He attended and played First XV rugby for Gisborne Boys' High School. In 2014 and 2015, he played for the Hurricanes U18 team.

As an 18-year-old, Walker-Leawere played one game for Poverty Bay in the Heartland Championship (on 29 August 2015 against Thames Valley).

Senior career

In 2016, Walker-Leawere moved to Wellington after being contracted by the Wellington Rugby Football Union. Before he had even played a single game of Mitre 10 Cup for the Lions, he was called into the Hurricanes wider training squad for the final weeks of the 2016 Super Rugby season.

On 11 August 2016, Walker-Leawere was named in the Wellington Lions squad. He made his Mitre 10 Cup debut against Hawke's Bay, nine days later. He went on to play three seasons for Wellington.

The Hawke's Bay Rugby Union announced on 7 June 2019 that Walker-Leawere had signed a three-year contract to play his provincial rugby for Hawke's Bay. He made his Magpies debut against Manawatu on 11 August 2019.

Meanwhile, in November 2017, the Hurricanes announced that Walker-Leawere had signed a two-year deal with the franchise, and named him in their squad for the 2018 Super Rugby season. He missed the first part of the season as he was initially recovering from shoulder reconstruction surgery and then suffered a knee injury. He made his Super Rugby debut for the Hurricanes against the Brumbies, on 30 June 2018. He has since re-signed with the Hurricanes multiple time, most recently recommitting to the franchise until the end of the 2026 season.

International career

In 2014, Walker-Leawere was named in the New Zealand Barbarians Schools' team that played matches against Australian Schools and Fiji Schools. The following year, he was named in the New Zealand Secondary Schools team for a three-match international series in Australia. He started in all three games and scored two tries.

On 10 May 2016, Walker-Leawere was named in the New Zealand Under-20 squad for the 2016 World Rugby Under 20 Championship in England. He played all 5 games in a campaign that saw New Zealand finish at a disappointing 5th place.

In 2017, he enjoyed more success with the New Zealand Under 20 team. He was named in the squad for the 2017 Oceania Rugby Under 20 Championship, which that year consisted of tests against Australia, Fiji and Samoa. He played in two of the three games, and New Zealand retained the Oceania title.

On 8 May 2017, Walker-Leawere was named in the New Zealand Under-20 squad for the 2017 World Rugby Under 20 Championship in Georgia. He played in all New Zealand's games and scored a try in the record 64-17 win over England in the final. New Zealand claimed its 6th World Rugby U20 Championship title that year.

In 2018, Walker-Leawere - who is of Ngāti Porou descent - was a member of the Māori All Blacks squad that toured the United States, Brazil and Chile. He made his Māori All Blacks debut on 3 November 2018 against the USA and scored two tries in that game. In July 2019, he was named in the squad again for a two-test series against Fiji. On 5 December 2020, he played for the Māori All Blacks in a one-off match against Moana Pasifika in Hamilton.

Having trained with the All Blacks a few months prior after being called up as injury cover for Patrick Tuipulotu, Walker-Leawere was on 8 October 2024 named in the All Blacks XV squad for two matches against Munster and Georgia. He made his debut for the team on 2 November 2024 in the game against Munster, which ended in a 38–14 victory to the All Blacks XV.

References

1. "Isaia Walker-Leawere Hurricanes Player Profile". Hurricanes. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
2. @hbmagpies (31 July 2024). "Squad 2024". Retrieved 1 August 2024 – via Instagram.
3. ^ "Rising star". Gisborne Herald. 1 September 2015. Archived from the original on 26 December 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
4. "Hurricanes U18 team named". Hurricanes (Press release). 22 July 2014. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
5. "Canes U18 team named for Crusaders clash". Hurricanes (Press release). 11 July 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
6. "Capital rugby clubs injection of talent as academy allocates seven young stars". Stuff New Zealand. 10 December 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
7. "'Izzy from Gizzy' get Hurricanes call up". Te Ao Māori News. 7 July 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
8. "Baumann and Lousi add bulk to young Lions". Wellington Lions (Press release). 11 August 2016. Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
9. "New-look Lions named to play Hawke's Bay". Wellington Lions (Press release). 19 August 2016. Archived from the original on 23 August 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
10. "The new and old for Magpies Mitre 10 Cup Campaign". Hawke's Bay Rugby Union. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
11. "Hurricanes 2018 squad announced". Hurricanes (Press release). 1 November 2017. Archived from the original on 1 November 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
12. "Meet the Hurricanes final four 2018 signings". Hurricanes (Press release). 3 November 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
13. "Hurricanes squad named to face Brumbies". Hurricanes (Press release). 28 June 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
14. "Lock Forwards Recommit to Hurricanes". Hurricanes (Press release). 18 April 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
15. "New Zealand Schools and Barbarian Schools teams named". allblacks.com (Press release). 24 September 2014. Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
16. "NZ Schools and Barbarians Schools teams named for international games". Te Ao Māori News. 14 September 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
17. "NZ squad named for World Rugby Under 20 Championship". allblacks.com (Press release). 10 May 2016. Archived from the original on 6 July 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
18. "NZU20 finish with big win over Australia". allblacks.com. 26 June 2016. Archived from the original on 27 June 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
19. "Final squad for Oceania U20 tournament named". allblacks.com (Press release). 18 April 2017. Archived from the original on 19 April 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
20. "NZ Under 20's retain Oceania title". allblacks.com. 7 May 2017. Archived from the original on 8 May 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
21. "NZ Under 20's named for Rugby World Championship". allblacks.com (Press release). 8 May 2017. Archived from the original on 22 December 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
22. "Under-20s triumph in record win over England". allblacks.com. 19 June 2017. Archived from the original on 16 July 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
23. "Maori All Blacks squad named for historic tour". allblacks.com (Press release). 15 October 2018. Archived from the original on 17 September 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
24. "Maori All Blacks team named to face USA Eagles, Chicago". allblacks.com (Press release). 2 November 2018. Archived from the original on 17 September 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
25. "Maori All Blacks Squad named for two-match series against Fiji". allblacks.com (Press release). 3 July 2019. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
26. "Sky Preview: Māori All Blacks v Moana Pasifika". allblacks.com (Press release). 4 December 2020. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
27. @allblacks (13 August 2024). "Isaia Walker-Leawere has joined the team as injury cover for Patrick Tuipulotu for the week in Auckland". Retrieved 18 October 2024 – via Instagram.
28. "All Blacks XV squad named for 2024 Northern Tour". allblacks.com (Press release). 8 October 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
29. "Hawke's Bay Magpie lock Isaia Walker-Leawere picked for All Blacks XV". Hawke’s Bay Today. 8 October 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
30. "Late blitz sees All Blacks XV secure testy win over Munster". RugbyPass. 3 November 2024. Retrieved 3 November 2024.

External links

• NZ Rugby History profile
• Isaia Walker-Leawere at ItsRugby.co.uk

• 1997 births
• Living people
• Ngāti Porou people
• New Zealand people of Fijian descent
• New Zealand rugby union players
• Rugby union players from the Gisborne Region
• Rugby union locks
• Poverty Bay rugby union players
• Wellington rugby union players
• Hurricanes (rugby union) players
• Hawke's Bay rugby union players
• Māori All Blacks players
• People educated at Gisborne Boys' High School