Orene Ai'i

Orene Ai'i

Date of birth	(1979-09-23) 23 September 1979 (age 45)
Place of birth	Apia, Upolu, Samoa
Height	1.7 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight	81 kg (179 lb; 12.8 st)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fly-half, Fullback Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 1998–2004 Auckland 47 (126) 1999 Hurricanes 2 (0) 2000–2004 Blues 31 (69) 2005–2007 Toyota Verblitz () 2008–2009 Toulon 41 (79) 2009–2012 Toyota Verblitz () 2012 Blues 2 (0) 2012 Northland 8 (5) 2013–2014 Auckland 2 (3) 2016 San Francisco Rush 12 (25) 2021 LA Giltinis () 2023– MSP Internationals () National sevens teams Years Team Comps 1998 Samoa 1999–2005 New Zealand 7

Orene Ai'i (born 23 September 1979) is a Samoan-born, New Zealand rugby union player who played as a first five-eighth and fullback for the Blues in Super Rugby and Northland in the ITM Cup. He is currently a player and assistant backs coach for the LA Giltinis in Major League Rugby (MLR).

Ai'i made his professional rugby debut in 2000 against the ACT Brumbies.

He previously played for Toyota Verblitz in Japan and Toulon in France.

Starting in August 2016, he played fly-half/fullback for the San Francisco Rush in PRO Rugby, America's first professional rugby league.

Ai'i re-joined the Blues as an injury cover after his contract with Toyota Verblitz was completed.^[1][2]

Ai'i was drafted in Season 4 of Match Fit: Union vs. League in 2024 as a cover for Piri Weepu in the beach rugby game in Piha Beach. He scored a hat-trick and helped Union to win over League.^[3]

• 2003 Super Rugby champion – Blues
• IRB Sevens World Series player of the year – 2004-05 season

• Orene Ai'i at the World Rugby Men's Sevens Series (archived)
• Orene Ai'i at ESPNscrum
• Orene Ai'i at ItsRugby.co.uk
• The Blues: Orene Ai'i