NOLA Gold re-signed Osaiasi Tongauiha Jr. for the 2021 Major League Rugby season. The 23-year-old back row is 6’2″ and 220 lbs.
Osaiasi is from Oakland, California, and played football while at Fremont High School. He played rugby while in high school for the Oakland Warthogs and following his graduation, played for Life West.
Osaiasi joined brother Moni in New Orleans and signed with NOLA Gold for the 2020 season. He played in a pre-season match against Rugby ATL, starting at outside center, but did not see any regular-season action during the Covid-19 shortened season. He also played for Krewe Rugby and New Orleans Rugby Club the past two years. In Fall 2020 he played for NOLA Gold Academy and has recently been converted from playing center to the back row.
NOLA Gold Comments
Ryan Fitzgerald, General Manager of NOLA Gold, indicated that “Osaiasi is an exciting player on the rise. At just 23 and having been here for only a calendar year, he is excelling daily. Another player that has stayed in Nola year-round, played with our NORFC men’s club and Academy and recently made the switch like his brother Moni from the backline to Back Row. A very promising future with a high ceiling for this young man.”
