Nasi Manu

Nasi Manu

Full name	Tavake Liukanasi Manu
Date of birth	15 August 1988 (1988-08-15) (age 23)
Place of birth	Lincoln, New Zealand
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight	112 kg (17 st 9 lb)
School	Christchurch Boys' High School
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position	Flanker or No. 8
Provincial/State sides
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
2007–present	Canterbury	45	(20)
Super Rugby
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
2008–2009 2010–present	Crusaders Highlanders	16 17	(5) (5)

Nasi Manu (born 15 August 1988 in Lincoln, New Zealand) is a professional rugby union player. He represents the Highlanders in the Super 15 competition and Canterbury in the ITM Cup, playing at Flanker or number 8.

Playing career

Provincial Rugby

Manu made his debut for Canterbury in the 2007 Air New Zealand Cup scoring a try on his debut against Counties Manukau at Mt. Smart Stadium in Auckland.

After missing the start of the 2010 ITM Cup with a knee injury, Manu was in excellent form through the latter part of the season, culminating in strong performances in the semi-final and final as Canterbury won the ITM Cup.

In the 2011 ITM Cup, Manu started every match as Canterbury won the title for the 4th consecutive season.

Super Rugby

Manu earned a Crusaders contract for the 2008 Super 14 season at the age of just 19, and emerged as a regular performer for the club, making 12 appearances and 2 starts as the Crusaders rampaged to the Super 14 title.

In 2009, however, Manu was unable to build on the success of his freshman campaign, and was limited to only 4 appearances and one start.

Looking for more playing time, Manu shifted to the Highlanders for the 2010 Super 14 season. However, his season ended up being a total write-off as, after winning the starting job at number 8 in the preseason, he suffered a knee injury early in the season-opening contest against the Crusaders and was ruled out for the remainder of the competition.

In 2011, Manu managed to stay healthy and put in an excellent campaign, starting every match at number eight for the Highlanders.

International Play

Manu was a member of New Zealand’s squad on their run to the world Under-19 title in 2007 and Under-20 title in 2008. He also was part of the New Zealand Secondary Schools in 2005 and 2006.

Personal

Manu is the nephew of the former Auckland and Wallaby loose forward Daniel Manu and is the cousin of David Manu and Sika Manu of the Melbourne Storm. His younger brother Vaka Manu had a short stint with rugby in NSW playing for the Sydney University Rugby Club. And youngest brother Taniela Manu plays representative rugby for Canterbury age groups.

Achievements

2007 Canterbury Junior Sports Person of the Year, Hadlee Awards

External links

• Canterbury Profile

Persondata
Name	Manu, Nasi
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	15 August 1988
Place of birth	Lincoln, New Zealand
Date of death
Place of death