Apii Nicholls-Pualau

Apii Nicholls-Pualau (born 26 February 1993) is a New Zealand rugby league and union player. She played for the Gold Coast Titans in the NRL Women's Premiership. Primarily a fullback, she is a New Zealand representative.^[1][2]

Apii Nicholls-Pualau

Personal information
Born	(1993-02-26) 26 February 1993 (age 31) Rarotonga, Cook Islands, New Zealand
Height	163 cm (5 ft 4 in)
Weight	62 kg (9 st 11 lb)
Playing information
Rugby league
Position	Fullback
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2018–19 New Zealand Warriors 6 0 7 0 14 2022–23 Gold Coast Titans 5 0 0 0 0 2023– Canberra Raiders 8 0 0 0 0 Total 19 0 7 0 14 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 2017– New Zealand 11 5 6 0 32 2019 New Zealand 9s 4 0 0 0 0
Rugby union
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2023–2024 Chiefs Manawa 6 0 0 0 0 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P Cook Islands 7s
Source: RLP As of 1 November 2023

In 2023, she was signed by Chiefs Manawa for the Super Rugby Aupiki competition.

Background

Born in Rarotonga, Nicolls-Paualau represented the Cook Islands rugby sevens team before switching to rugby league.^[3]

Playing career

Otahuhu Leopards

In 2017, Nicholls-Paulau began playing for the Otahuhu Leopards in the Auckland Rugby League.^[4] Later that year, she was selected to represent New Zealand at the 2017 Women's Rugby League World Cup.^[5] She captained the team in a 50–4 win over Canada.^[6] On 2 December 2017, she started at fullback in New Zealand's final loss to Australia.

On 11 February 2018, she was named the NZRL Women's Player of the Year.^[7] On 1 August 2018, she joined the New Zealand Warriors NRL Women's Premiership team.^[8] In Round 1 of the 2018 NRL Women's season, she made her debut for the Warriors, kicking a goal in a 10–4 win over the Sydney Roosters.^[9]

International

In October 2019, Nicholls-Pualau was a member of New Zealand's 2019 Rugby League World Cup 9s-winning squad.^[10]

In October 2022, she was selected for the New Zealand squad at the delayed 2021 Women's Rugby League World Cup in England.^[11]

Chiefs Manawa (RU)

Nicholls-Pualau was signed by Chiefs Manawa for the 2023 Super Rugby Aupiki season.^[12][13] She rejoined the side for the 2024 season.^[14][15]

Canberra Raiders

On 27 Apr 2023 it was reported that she had returned to play rugby league with Canberra Raiders Women in their inaugural season.^[16]

References

1. "Kiwi Ferns name World Cup squad". Rugby League World Cup. 12 October 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
2. "Kiwi Ferns name squad for Rugby League World Cup". Newshub. 13 October 2017. Archived from the original on 14 October 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
3. "Pre-game nerves no cop-out for Nicholls". NRL. 7 September 2018.
4. "Apii Nicholls". NZRL.
5. "Following Fiso no easy task". NRL. 14 November 2017.
6. "Apii Nicholls-Pualau ready to take charge of Kiwis". Ethan O'Gorman RL. 14 November 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
7. "Four Vodafone Warriors honoured at NZRL awards". NZ Warriors. 11 February 2018.
8. "Vodafone Warriors unveil NRL women's premiership squad". NZ Warriors. 1 August 2018.
9. "'I wake up and just start feeling really nervous' - Nicholls". NZ Warriors. 7 September 2018.
10. "Kiwi Ferns will find out who is their fastest". NRL. 17 October 2019.
11. Priest, Craig (2 October 2022). "Kiwi Ferns name 24-strong World Cup squad". New Zealand Rugby League. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
12. Birchall, Jim (16 January 2023). "League and sevens stars bolster Waitomo Chiefs Manawa". NZ Herald. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
13. "League and Sevens Stars Sign with Waitomo Chiefs Manawa". Chiefs. 16 January 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
14. "Chiefs Manawa squad announced for 2024". Chiefs. 28 November 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
15. "Sky Super Rugby Aupiki squads locked in for 2024". superrugby.co.nz. 28 November 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
16. "Apii Nicholls". Canberra Raiders. 27 April 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2023.

External links

• NRL profile