Although born in New Zealand, Ta'avao would also have been eligible to play international rugby for Australia through his mother, or for Samoa through his father.
Ta'avao was schooled at Dilworth School in Auckland, New Zealand.
Ta'avao first came to prominence when he played for New Zealand Under 20 in Argentina in 2010 and made his debut for Auckland in the same year.
He signed for the Blues for the Super Rugby season playing for the side through to the 2015 season before looking to further his opportunities in Australia.
With 25 points scored in 63 Super Rugby appearances, Ta'avao signed a two-year contract for the Waratahs and Sydney Rays for 2016 through until the end of 2017.
He played for the Waratahs for two seasons before heading back home to play for Taranaki in the Mitre 10 Cup, but without a Super Rugby contract in 2018
Ta'avao helped Taranaki reach the 2017 Mitre 10 Cup semi-final winning the Ranfurly Shield along the way.
In 2018, he was called into the Chiefs Super Rugby squad as injury cover.
He featured in all 17 games of the 2018 campaign and he then was called into the All Blacks as injury cover.
He was named on the bench for the All Blacks for his test debut against Argentina in Buenos Aires.
Ta'avao has 102 Super rugby caps so far.
Ta'avao has 11 International caps and was also part of the 2019 All Blacks Rugby World Cup squad who finished the tournament 3rd in Japan.
Career
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Taranaki Tighthead Prop |
2014 - present |
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Chiefs Tighthead Prop |
2018 - present |
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New Zealand Tighthead Prop |
2018 - present |
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Auckland Tighthead Prop |
|
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Blues Loosehead Prop |
2010 - 2015 |
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Barbarians Loosehead Prop |
2014 - 2016 |
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Sydney Rays Tighthead Prop |
2016 - 2016 |
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NSW Waratahs Loosehead Prop |
2016 - 2017 |
