Veveni Lasaqa: a try on his Highlanders debut, then the club's 2025 Rookie of the Year

Veveni Lasaqa came off the bench for his first game in a Highlanders jersey, in Sydney on 14 February 2025, and scored a try. By June 2025 the Lautoka-born flanker had been voted the club's Rookie of the Year and handed a new contract. As of November 2026, Veveni Lasaqa has 27 Super Rugby games and seven Super Rugby tries, eight tries in 42 games for Bay of Plenty, and a Highlanders deal that runs through 2029. This is the story of how a boy from Lautoka made his way to Dunedin.

From Lautoka to Tauranga

Lasaqa was born in Lautoka, Fiji, on 4 June 2002, according to the Highlanders and Wikipedia. Fiji's FBC News describes him as a man of Ucunivanua in Verata, Tailevu, and the Fiji Times also traces his roots to Verata. He started school at Natabua Primary in Lautoka, the Fiji Times reported, before the move to New Zealand that took him to Tauranga.

The Highlanders list his height as 1.83 metres and his weight as 101 kilograms.

Tauranga Boys' College

Lasaqa went to Tauranga Boys' College, and the Bay of Plenty Times was watching him in the First XV by 2018, when he was still 15 at the start of the season.

On 30 May 2018 the school played Westlake Boys' High School in its traditional sports exchange at home in Tauranga. Westlake arrived unbeaten in their own competition and led 15-14 early in the second half, before Tauranga scored twice in two minutes. The second try was Lasaqa's, and it put his side 26-15 up on the way to a 31-22 win.

On Saturday 9 June 2018 came a televised Super 8 match against Rotorua Boys' High School, also in Tauranga. Rotorua led 17-0 at half-time and won 34-14, but the young openside led Tauranga's response after the break. He made the run that launched their second-half attack, and from an attacking scrum five metres out he charged over under the posts himself. "He didn't stop working hard and tackling all day," Tauranga Boys' co-coach Dan Goodwin told the Bay of Plenty Times.

Greerton Marist and Bay of Plenty

Lasaqa's club in Tauranga is Greerton Marist, which is listed as his home club on the Highlanders website and by NZ Rugby History.

He made his Bay of Plenty debut in the 2021 NPC, aged 19, and played four games that season, according to NZ Rugby History. His first provincial try came on 6 November 2021 against Canterbury at Rugby League Park in Christchurch, in a 40-28 loss on the last weekend of the regular season.

Before the year was out he was in red. On 29 November 2021 the New Zealand Barbarians named their first squad after a two-year break, with Warren Gatland as head coach, and Lasaqa was one of three Bay of Plenty players in it, alongside Leroy Carter and Semisi Paea. The Barbarians played the New Zealand Heartland XV in Taupō on 5 December 2021, and NZ Rugby History records Lasaqa's one game in the famous jersey.

The 2022 NPC brought six appearances, five of them off the bench, and two tries, both at Tauranga Domain. He scored in the 82nd minute of a 54-21 win over Southland on 18 September 2022 and scored again in a 23-21 loss to Northland on 28 September 2022. In 2023 he became a regular, with nine starts in 10 games.

He did not play in the 2024 NPC, but returned in 2025 with 12 games and three tries. He scored early in a 39-22 win over Counties Manukau at Navigation Homes Stadium in Pukekohe on 10 August 2025, and late in a 19-7 win over North Harbour at North Harbour Stadium in Albany on 29 August 2025. Bay of Plenty beat Tasman 27-7 in a quarter-final in Tauranga on 11 October 2025, and in the semi-final against Otago at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on 17 October 2025, Lasaqa scored the first try of the night in the ninth minute. Otago came back to win 41-17 in front of 10,764 people.

In the 2026 NPC he played 10 games and scored two tries, both in the opening game, a 38-26 loss to Waikato at FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton on 30 July 2026: one in the 78th minute and another after the full-time hooter. RugbyPass's statistics credit him with 136 tackles across those 10 games, the 10th highest total among the competition's loose forwards.

A Hurricane for one night

Lasaqa's first taste of Super Rugby came with the Hurricanes, who called him into their squad early in the 2024 season. On 28 February 2024 head coach Clark Laidlaw named him on the bench for the round two match against the Queensland Reds, the night Jordie Barrett played his 100th game for the Hurricanes.

It was played at Super Round, at AAMI Park in Melbourne on 3 March 2024. Lasaqa came on for the last 13 minutes, according to RugbyPass's records, and the Hurricanes won 38-33 in extra time. It was his only game for the club.

The Highlanders

On 3 July 2024 the Highlanders announced five signings for 2025, among them "the promising Fijian-born loose forward Veveni Lasaqa", on a two-year contract. His Hurricanes team-mate TK Howden also moved south for 2025, and the club's profile lists Lasaqa as Highlanders player number 360.

His first game for the club was decided by a single point. The Highlanders opened the 2025 season against the Waratahs at Allianz Stadium in Sydney on 14 February 2025. Lasaqa came off the bench and scored in the 57th minute, but two late tries from Waratahs replacement Siosifa Amone snatched a 37-36 win for the home side.

FBC News reported that he had "impressed off the bench", and he was given the No 7 jersey for the home opener against the Blues at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on 22 February 2025, with Sean Withy moving to blindside to make room. The Highlanders won 29-21 for their first victory of the season. Lasaqa added tries in a 43-20 win over the Fijian Drua in Dunedin on 12 April 2025 and in a 43-10 loss to the Crusaders, also in Dunedin, on 26 April 2025. He finished the season with 14 games, 10 of them starts, and three tries.

In June 2025 the Highlanders revealed that he had been voted the club's 2025 Rookie of the Year at their annual awards evening, and announced that he had extended his contract to the end of 2027. "Veveni brings energy, excitement and a real edge to our loose forwards," Joseph said. "He's only scratched the surface of what he can become."

"I'm really grateful for the opportunity," he told the Fiji Times in November 2025, looking back on his first Highlanders season.

The 2026 season brought 12 games and four tries. He scored after the full-time hooter in a 26-23 loss to the Chiefs in Dunedin on 21 February 2026. Recalled to the starting side at openside for the visit of the Western Force to Dunedin on 7 March 2026, he scored in the 10th minute of a 39-31 win. He crossed again in a 39-19 win over Moana Pasifika at North Harbour Stadium in Albany on 27 March 2026.

The fourth came in Fiji. On 2 May 2026 the Highlanders played the Fijian Drua at the new 4R Stadium in Ba, up the coast from Lautoka, the city where Lasaqa was born. He had told the Fiji Times in November 2025 that he was excited about the fixture and expected the heat to be "a shock to the body". He started at flanker, one of four players with Fijian links in the Highlanders' starting XV, and scored in the 37th minute, although the Drua won 24-14.

Style and standing

Goodwin praised his work rate and tackling as a schoolboy in 2018. The Highlanders' re-signing announcement in June 2025 described his "direct, energetic play", and Joseph spoke of the "real edge" he brings to the loose forwards. When the club first signed him in July 2024, it called him "promising"; by October 2026 it had tied him down until the end of the 2029 season.

He has not played Test rugby for any country.

Looking to 2027

When the Highlanders named their 2027 squad on 28 October 2026, Lasaqa was in a loose-forward group alongside Shannon Frizell, Joseva Tamani, Lucas Casey, Nikora Broughton, Sean Withy, TK Howden and Will Stodart. The club confirmed that he, Casey, Dylan Pledger and Mika Muliaina are signed through 2029. "We don't want players waiting for their turn," Joseph said that day.

The squad assembles on 26 November 2026, and the Highlanders open the 2027 season against the Fijian Drua in Fiji on 13 February 2027.

Career at a glance

Bay of Plenty figures combine NZ Rugby History for 2021 (four games, one try) with RugbyPass for 2022 to 2026 (38 games, seven tries); Wikipedia's match records list the same eight tries. Super Rugby figures are RugbyPass's (27 games, seven tries) and match NZ Rugby History for 2024 and 2025 and Wikipedia's try records for 2025 and 2026.