LA Giltinis signed Andrew Tuala through the 2023 Major League Rugby season. The 30-year-old hooker/ Loosehead prop is 5’11” and 280 lbs.
Andrew joins the team after playing twice for the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman NSW Waratahs in 2020-2021. He also played twice in 2020 for the Waratahs in Super Rugby AU, and nine Super Rugby matches for the Waratahs from 2018-2020.
Andrew is from Mount Roskill, New Zealand, and attended Mount Roskill Grammar School. He played in the National Rugby Championship for four seasons, with the Greater Sydney Rams in 2016-2017, Melbourne Rising in 2018, and NSW Country Eagles in 2019-2020. He also played in the NSW Shute Shield with Northern Suburbs in 2018-2019 and with Southern Districts for two seasons from 2019-2021.
Andrew played club rugby with the Wanders Rugby.
LA Giltinis Comments
“I’m really looking forward to this journey with the Giltinis. I love the flow to the rugby they play,” Tuala said from Sydney.
“The Giltinis get the big boys involved a lot so I think it’s going to be a good fit because I like trucking the ball up hard.”
The New Zealand-born Tuala said the phone call from Giltinis head coach Stephen Hoiles arrived at the right time when he was weighing up his future for 2022.
Off the field, Tuala works as a career with troubled youth.
“Sometimes young people just need their confidence built up and someone offering a bit of guidance. For me, helping to change the lives of young people is such a positive so, for sure, I’d like to help out through the Giltinis in LA,” Tuala said.
“I’m a hooker who can cover loosehead prop so hopefully that versatility is a help to my new club.
For Hoiles, adding quality to the team’s front-row depth has been a priority during the off-season with JP Smith and Blake Rogers moving on.
“We used a number of players at prop and hooker in 2021. It’s an important area you need to have covered,” Hoiles said.
“Andrew is a strong ball-carrier, experienced and versatile which are all plusses for the Giltinis.”
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