Rugby New York signed Nehe Rihara Milner-Skudder for the remainder of the 2022 Major League Rugby season. The 31-year-old fullback/wing is 5’11”, 200 lbs and joins the team after playing for the Hurricanes.
Nehe is from Taihape, New Zealand, and is part of the Maori, Ngati Porou, and Tapuika tribes. He attended Queen Elizabeth College.
Nehe began his professional rugby career playing rugby league for the Sydney-based Canterbury Bulldogs Under-20s Holden Cup team in 2009 and 2010 before returning home and playing for Massey University in 2011 and then in the ITM Cup with Manawatu.
He would go on to play 57 matches with Manawatu in the ITM Cup (Mitre 10 Cup. He joined the Hurricanes wider training group in 2014 and played in Super Rugby in 36 matches between 2015 to 2019 for the Hurricanes. In 2020 he signed with Toulon in the French Top 14. Previous injuries, however, canceled his contract. He then signed a Super Rugby contract with the Highlanders for 2020 and 2021, playing in one match and playing a club one with Ngāti Porou East Coast.
He had a standout NPC 2021 season with the Manawatu Turbos as a player-coach and this led to his signing with the Hurricanes for the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season.
Nehe played national team rugby three times for the Māori All Blacks between 2014 and 2017. He earned 13 caps for the New Zealand All Blacks from 2015 to 2018. As All Blacks 1146, he played for the winning 2015 Rugby World Cup team and scored 60 points in his career. He also played twice for the Barbarians FC in 2015, and for the World XV in 2018.
Nehe’s family has been extensively involved with rugby. His mother, Heneriata Milner is a cousin of the late All Black center Henare Milner (1968-1970), and his father Richard, is the younger brother of former All Black wing George Skudder (1969, 1972). Two more All Blacks are part of their family. Tanerau Latimer is a first cousin who played in 2009, while Ben Atiga is from their extended family.
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