Christian Pharaoh Leali'ifano

Rugby has many great stories, but few are as inspiring as that of Christian Leali’ifano.

Born in Auckland, and of Samoan heritage, Leali’ifano was six years old when his family moved to Melbourne. He began playing rugby at age 10 and went on to become one of a small group of players to be selected for Australian Schools’ honours out of Victoria.

In early 2006 Leali’ifano endured a career defining moment. Just prior to the U19s World Cup he lost his father to liver cancer. Unsure of whether to stay at home or head to the UAE with the team, Leali’ifano was convinced by his mum and one of his brothers that his dad would want him to go. The Australians won the tournament and Leali’ifano starred in the final as he set up a try for future fellow Wallaby Lachlan Turner and kicked two conversions in the 17-13 victory over New Zealand.

Following the tournament, he was promoted from the Brumbies’ Academy to its senior squad and onto a rookie contract for the 2007 season. Three years later, and after having ruptured his posterior cruciate ligament early in the Super Rugby season, Leali’ifano gained invaluable experience alongside future Brumby Henry Speight when he represented eventual grand finalists Waikato in the 2010 ITM Cup.

A broken ankle put paid to his prospects for the 2012 representative season before he finally came of age in 2013. On the back of an excellent season for the Super Rugby runners-up Leali’ifano made his Test debut against the British & Irish Lions in Brisbane. He went on to become just the second Wallaby to score 100 or more points in their debut year and along the way broke Stirling Mortlock’s 2000 record of 122 by a single conversion.

In 2016 Australian rugby was rocked by news that Leali’ifano had been diagnosed with leukaemia. He underwent intense treatment and a bone marrow transplant. Ten months later, and in what was described as nothing short of one of the most inspirational sporting comebacks of all time, Leali’ifano came off the bench for the Brumbies in a mid-season friendly against the Asia Pacific Dragons. He then made his Super Rugby comeback in the quarter-final defeat to the Hurricanes before signing a short-term deal with Irish PRO14 club Ulster.

After a three year hiatus, Leali’ifano was justifiably rewarded for a superb season as Brumbies captain with selection in the Wallaby squad for The Rugby Championship of 2019. He started at fly half when Australia put a record 47 points on the All Blacks in Perth before securing selection to his first Rugby World Cup.

Leali’ifano left Australian rugby when he joined Toyota Shuttles in Japan but returned to Super Rugby in 2022 with Moana Pasifika. In 2023, after a stand-down period of three years, Leali’ifano was selected in the Manu Samoa RWC squad and made his debut for a second nation, the land of his forefathers, in the 24-22 pool match victory over Japan.

Christian Leali'ifano played 26 Tests for Australia over his four season, seven-year international career.

Highlights

2006 Selected in the Australian squad which won the third annual IRB U19 Junior World Championship title in the United Arab Emirates. Selected in the Australian squad for the fifth-annual IRB under-21 Rugby World Championships in France.

2006/07 Represented Australia in the IRB Sevens World Series

2013 Won his first Test cap when selected at inside centre for the 1st Test, 21-23 loss to the British & Irish Lions in Brisbane. Unfortunately, that debut lasted just 43 seconds after he was knocked cold when tackling rival Jonathan Davies. Over the course of the season Leali’ifano played a total of 13 Tests, 11 of which came in the run-on XV.

2014 Leali’ifano returned from ankle surgery to find his spot in the Wallaby backline was filled by fellow Brumby Matt To’omua. He returned to the team for the final Bledisloe Cup Test and picked up a further two caps against Wales and France on the end-of-season Spring Tour.

2016 Leali’ifano earned three Test caps off the bench in the June home series against England.

2019 In his final season of international rugby for Australia, Leali'ifano won seven caps including four at his first Rugby World Cup.