Born in Tonga, Samipeni Finau played much of his early rugby at fullback before shifting to the loose forwards.
That versatility is obvious to those that watch Finau in action who is fast and powerful off the side of the scrum. Finau was selected for the 2017 New Zealand Schools Barbarians team in 2017 off the back of an impressive season with St Peter’s Cambridge, who won the National Co-Ed title.
Chiefs co-captain Sam Cane said the rookie was their most impressive player in pre-season before their Super Rugby Aotearoa opener in 2021.
Finau made his Super Rugby debut for the Gallagher Chiefs vs the Highlanders in 2021 starting alongside the likes of Cane and Jacobson.
After a string of consistent Super Rugby seasons, Finau was rewarded in 2023 by being named in the All Blacks squad for the Lipovitan-D Rugby Championship.
