Rugby Sevens: Ōhaupō's Dwayne Talaiti kits up for Niue

Dwayne Talaiti (back right) in support of his Niue Sevens teammate. Photo / Oceania Rugby

The 2022 Oceania Rugby Sevens Challenge took place at the Hugh Courtney Oval in North Brisbane last weekend, with Ōhaupō rugby player Dwayne Talaiti appearing for the Niue Sevens side that upset Papua New Guinea.

The Oceania Rugby Sevens Challenge is a shortened version of the Oceania Rugby Sevens Championship, featuring 14 teams vying for a place in the 2023 World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series.

Men’s teams were from the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, and Australia A, while six women’s teams from the Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu were also involved.

Dwayne’s father Sam headed across the Tasman to watch his son play.

“Me turning up to watch him was a surprise, he had no idea I was coming over. The family are proud, he takes after his old man,” Ōhaupō Rugby Club stalwart Sam says jokingly.

“I’m just very proud of him to be honest, last weekend he played for Queensland Niue Rugby League as well and this weekend they are playing the South Africa Rugby League Development team at the Gold Coast.”

Sam was also a member of the Niue Sevens side in 2000, but injury stopped him from taking the field.

Over the past few seasons, the father-son duo have played alongside each other several times for Ōhaupō.

Sam says taking the field with his son was the proudest moment of his life and “not many can say they’ve done it”.

The Niue side was led by sons of former All Black and Western Samoa rep Frank Bunce, with Jordan as captain and Chance as one of the co-coaches.

Day one of the challenge saw Niue go down 35-5 against the Solomon Islands before a 14-12 victory over PNG and a 46-0 drubbing of Kiribati.

“Niue left the end of the first day as the happiest team in the competition. After a disappointing performance against the Solomon Islands, the small island nation responded in the best way possible, upsetting tournament heavyweights Papua New Guinea with an incredible performance,” it stated on Oceania Rugby’s website after day one.

“Niue finished their day with a strong defeat of Kiribati and will enter day two with great momentum as they look to be a Cinderella team heading into the playoff matches.”

Niue went on to beat Kiribati 36-7 in the seventh and eighth playoffs after falling to Australia A in their previous playoff match.

The top two men’s and the top-placed women’s teams qualified for the 2023 World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series.

The winner of the 2023 World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series will achieve core status on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2024.