Feleti Sae-Ta'ufo'ou: the rookie prop who scored a Super Rugby hat-trick against the Waratahs

On 5 April 2025 at North Harbour Stadium in Albany, Feleti Sae-Ta'ufo'ou, a tighthead prop in his first Super Rugby season, scored three tries in 20 minutes as Moana Pasifika came from 21-7 down at half-time to beat the Waratahs 45-28. He was named man of the match, and the win gave Moana back-to-back victories for the first time in their history. The 24-year-old Manawatū prop, who played 13 games for Moana Pasifika before the club's exit from the competition, is a new signing for the Crusaders in 2027.

Where he comes from

Sae-Ta'ufo'ou was born on 17 June 2002, according to Wikipedia. He is eligible for Samoa, Tonga and New Zealand, RNZ Pacific reported in April 2025, and he told RNZ that choosing between them was "bit of a headache" but up to the coaches. RUGBE could not find a published account of his junior club rugby, and no family members in rugby have been written about publicly.

Palmerston North Boys' High School

Sae-Ta'ufo'ou learned his rugby at Palmerston North Boys' High School, RNZ Pacific reported. When the Hurricanes named their first Under 20 squad in March 2021, ahead of the inaugural Super Rugby Under 20 tournament in Taupō from 10 to 17 April 2021, he was one of the props, listed by ClubRugby.nz as "out of Palmerston North Boys' High School". The same squad included future Super Rugby players Peter Lakai and Harry Godfrey.

Manawatū

From the Hurricanes Under 20s he went into the Manawatū academy, and in 2023 he made his NPC debut for the Turbos, RNZ Pacific reported. RugbyPass records three NPC games in 2023, five in 2024 and six in 2025.

His 2026 NPC season was his busiest: nine games and his first two provincial tries. He scored in a 29-12 win over Bay of Plenty at Tauranga Domain on 5 September 2026 and again in a 40-34 win over Auckland at Eden Park on 25 September 2026.

Moana Pasifika

Sae-Ta'ufo'ou was, in RNZ Pacific's words, "plucked out of Manawatu" by Moana Pasifika head coach Tana Umaga for the 2025 season. He made his Super Rugby debut in the opening round against the Western Force at HBF Park in Perth on 15 February 2025, a game the Force won 45-44 with a try after full-time.

On 29 March 2025 Moana Pasifika beat the Crusaders 45-29 in Christchurch, and a week later they hosted the Waratahs in Albany.

The hat-trick

The Waratahs led 21-7 at half-time on 5 April 2025, and Moana's only try of the first half was Sae-Ta'ufo'ou's, in the 32nd minute. After the break Moana scored six more. Sae-Ta'ufo'ou crossed again in the 44th minute and completed his hat-trick in the 52nd, backing up a break and powering over, rugby.com.au reported, and he was cramping by the time he got up. Patrick Pellegrini, William Havili, Fine Inisi and Semisi Tupou Ta'eiloa added the rest as Moana won 45-28 in front of close to 10,000 fans.

Rugby.com.au called it "a rare hat-trick". PMN named him man of the match, and Super Rugby's fantasy game made him its Player of the Week for round 8. Super Rugby said he was the first front-rower to win that award in 2025, calling his performance "not only memorable, but historic".

After the game he told Sky Sport that the halftime message had been about resilience and staying in the fight. "This team is more than a team, it's family," he said.

A few days later he told RNZ Pacific that fighting for a place in the match-day 23 every week had been "definitely the hardest challenge along my rugby journey so far". "I have learned to embrace the challenge rather than really fear the challenge," he said. He credited his captain, Ardie Savea, with setting the standards around the team.

He finished the 2025 season with 10 games and three tries, all of them from that afternoon in Albany, RugbyPass records. In 2026 he played three more games for Moana Pasifika.

A new club

In June 2026 Moana Pasifika were ruled out of the 2027 Super Rugby Pacific competition, and their players went looking for new clubs. On 28 October 2026 the Crusaders named Sae-Ta'ufo'ou as a new signing in their 2027 squad, one of six props alongside All Blacks Tamaiti Williams, Fletcher Newell and George Bower, plus Finlay Brewis and Seb Calder, with French prop Clément Castets added as cover for the injured Williams. The Crusaders will be coached in 2027 by Scott Hansen, who replaces Rob Penney.

Style and standing

Sae-Ta'ufo'ou's own description of what he learned in his first Super Rugby season was about belief: "I am here for a reason and I can actually back myself," he told RNZ Pacific. Rugby.com.au described him as "solid in his debut season" before the hat-trick, and PMN reported that he was hard to stop because of his power.

Looking to 2027

Sae-Ta'ufo'ou has not played a Test for any country, and RUGBE found no record of a call-up by Samoa, Tonga or New Zealand. He goes into 2027 as a Crusader, with Manawatū as his province.

Career at a glance

Moana Pasifika and Manawatū figures are RugbyPass's season-by-season records; the three Super Rugby tries and two NPC tries match Wikipedia's match records.