Christian Leali'ifano

Dual-nation Test player Christian Lealiifano, who has been capped for both Australia and Samoa in his career, brings unique and incredibly valuable experience at 10 to RFCLA for the 2025 season.

The flyhalf started his career with Super Rugby’s Brumbies in 2008, amassing 150 appearances and scoring 963 points over 11 seasons in Australia’s capital, Canberra.

Lealiifano made his debut for the Wallabies in 2013 against the British & Irish Lions, winning 26 caps over his career. It was not long after his 19th Test cap, in 2016 against England, that Lealiifano’s rugby career was forced into hiatus after a shock leukemia diagnosis.

After undergoing treatment, Lealiifano made an inspirational return to elite rugby with the Brumbies just a year later, before a short stint with Irish side Ulster. Lealiifano went from strength to strength in the years following, returning to the Wallabies setup in 2019, and going on to play in the Rugby World Cup in Japan.

The playmaker spent time in Japan between 2018 and 2020, playing for Toyota Shokki Shuttles (2018) and NTT Communications (2019 & 2020).

Lealiifano wasn’t finished in Super Rugby, though, becoming one of the first signings for Moana Pasifika in Super Rugby Pacific. From there, he won a debut with a second Test nation, Samoa, featuring for his ancestral home in the 2023 World Cup and adding eight caps to his international tally in the process.

After three seasons with the Moana Pasifika and a loan to NPC side Auckland, Lealiifano has decided to add another frontier to his very full resume, coming to the MLR.