Latest news with #Ma'asi-White
South Wales Argus
26-05-2025
- Sport
- South Wales Argus
Rekeiti Ma'asi-White sets his sights on England debut
The 22-year-old centre, known for his intensely physical playing style, has been touted as a possible replacement for the injured Ollie Lawrence after his brilliant form for Sale Sharks of late. Ma'asi-White has scored three tries in as many Premiership matches and received recognition for his fine form with a place in a 33-man training squad who gathered at Pennyhill Park this week. "Alex Sanderson and Byron McGuigan were pushing me to reach these camps and hopefully put my hand up," Ma'asi-White said. 'I think I've definitely put my hand up, but ultimately it's up to Steve Borthwick. "I have only ever focused on what I can control, and just keep progressing, get the head down and graft." Join us at @allianz_stad as England XV take on France XV 👊 Get your tickets now 👇 — England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) May 23, 2025 Ma'asi-White made his professional debut for Wasps in 2022 and was quickly snapped up by Sale after the Coventry side's demise. He has impressed his coaches with his incredible raw power and was pleased to see a familiar face in the form of former Sharks star McGuigan, among England's coaching staff in the two-day camp, to help him settle in during his maiden international experience. "Having Byron here has helped,' he said. 'It's nice to see some faces that you know. It gives you a bit of confidence especially within the coaching staff. "I'm super stoked for Byron to get this role and I'm sure he'll do a great job, too.' Ma'asi-White was among 14 uncapped players who were named in the training squad and hopes he will be able to advance his case in the Premiership play-offs with Sale Sharks. Having been beaten finalists two years ago and departed at the semi-final stage last year, Sharks are bidding to go one better this time around but need to beat Exeter on the final day to make sure of their spot in the top four. 'There's obviously a bit of nerves and pressure around because we've got to get the five points to secure our place in the play-offs but we'll be all guns firing,' he said. 'It'll be tough going away to Sandy Park, but we've just got to make sure we're not desperate for the five points and play our game plan.' With a wide array of midfield options available to Steve Borthwick ahead of the Argentina and America tour, Ma'asi-White's last opportunity to secure his spot on tour will be when an England XV take on a France XV at Allianz Stadium on June 21. Borthwick said: "We know France will have some players unavailable for selection, as we will. "We also know the depth they have in their country and in their squad. We spoke prior to the Six Nations as some of our clubs had had tough games against French opponents, so they went in with a lot of confidence against us. 'It is an important step for us and we are looking forward to playing in front of our own fans at Allianz Stadium." England XV face France XV at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, on Saturday 21 June at 3:15pm. Tickets from £25, please visit
Telegraph
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
The next Manu Tuilagi could be Sale centre Rekeiti Ma'asi-White
There was no white smoke involved, but in Manu Tuilagi's farewell press conference as a Sale player last June, he made sure to anoint Rekeiti Ma'asi-White as his long-term successor in the Sharks midfield. 'He's so exciting, man,' Tuilagi said. 'Do you see him train? He's good. Real good. The thing for Riki is that he has got a big future but he is good now. He is ready to go. He has got the size and skills. I can't wait to see him get that opportunity.' It has taken a while for that opportunity to come. A hamstring niggle delayed the 22-year-old's development this season, while the signing of Waisea Nayacalevu meant Ma'asi-White had to drop into the Championship for game time through a loan spell at Caldy. Now, however, having broken into the first team as Sale come to the business end of the season, Ma'asi-White is showing precisely why the usually taciturn Tuilagi was so effusive in his praise. 'Anything that Manu says is special, especially when he honours you,' Ma'asi-White said. 'He has left some big shoes to fill.' While far from exact replicas – the Sale man is giving away the best part of 1st 7lb (10kg) – there are obvious similarities, from the Pacific Island DNA to the gain-line breaking ability. So it comes as no surprise that Ma'asi-White modelled much of his game on Tuilagi. 'I think I have similar strengths to Manu, having watched him growing up – ball-carrying, running threat and hammer D [defence] – I think I hit people pretty well,' Ma'asi-White said. 'Offloading as well comes with the game when it needs to be. I am not looking to force it all the time.' Rekeiti Ma'asi-White is a joy to watch in full flow 😱 Watch live on @rugbyontnt 📺 #GallagherPrem | #NEWvSAL — Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) March 21, 2025 As much as the offloads and sidesteps are lovely added extras, the one message that Tuilagi left with Ma'asi-White, who joined Sale in 2022 following Wasps' demise, was that it was his job to get over the gain line. 'That's pretty much it,' Ma'asi-White said. 'Get your head down and carry. As complicated as rugby can be, sometimes you just need to get your head down and carry hard, especially when things go to s---. 'I did a lot of my reviews with Manu and the main thing I learnt was probably the simple things – work on things you are good at as well as the work-ons. Focus on your strengths, but also little things make a big difference. Whether it will be spacing or talking to the 10 and 13, Fordy [George Ford] and Rob [du Preez], just a small chat. It will not be the big things. It is never really that complicated. Once you know your role, it is about the detail.' Just four points separate Sale Sharks and Doncaster Knights at the break! Rekeiti Ma'asi-White's try gave the home side the early lead ⤵️ #PremRugbyCup #SALvDON #SaleSharks — Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) February 7, 2025 Aside from Tuilagi, the main influence on Ma'asi-White has been his father, Vili Ma'asi, who played 36 times as a prop for Tonga. He also earned cult hero status at London Welsh, Cornish Pirates and Ampthill, where he played well into his 40s and is the club where Rekeiti started. While Rekeiti and his brothers were born and raised in England, their father administered his own brand of tough Tongan love as they grew up. 'We had a rowing machine in the back garden and he would abuse us on that, properly abuse us,' Ma'asi-White said. 'Crazy, crazy sets to the point where your brain can't function any more. It translated to when we were playing well for our junior clubs and the other parents were saying these kids are huge. It is not just genetics, he has made us work for it. He would do it all with us, 10km row was his favourite, but eventually he wore it out. That was the happiest day of my life when I heard it was broken.' The rowing machine may be no more but Vili is still there to dish out the instructions at the AJ Bell Stadium. 'My dad is very big on work rate and getting my hands on the ball,' Ma'asi-White said. 'He notices everything. He will tell you from the crowd. Every game I hear it: 'Get up, get up, Run harder, run harder'. After the game, the feedback is usually constructive. But no matter what I do, whether I play well or poorly, he gives me a hug.'
Times
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Times
Rekeiti Ma'asi-White: Meet Manu Tuilagi pupil on England's radar
Saracens are heading to Sale Sharks on Friday night for a Premiership showdown with significant play-off implications. Rekeiti Ma'asi-White, the latest Anglo-Tongan to burst on to the English rugby scene, was ready for battle the moment he stepped out of Sale's team meeting at Carrington. Alex Sanderson, the director of rugby, has prepared his troops by showing them clips from the Gerard Butler film, 300, a fictionalised retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae when a band of outnumbered Spartans fought valiantly to the death against the Persian army led by Xerxes. 'We talked about how it's going to be a huge battle,' Ma'asi-White says. Sanderson's message will have been for Sale to write a different ending. It could be vital in their quest for a Premiership semi-final. Three of Sale's last four regular-season games are against title rivals, with this Saracens match followed by a trip to Leicester Tigers and then a home game against Bristol Bears. Friday's clash will throw up a fascinating head-to-head between two former house-mates: Ma'asi-White, who is enjoying a breakthrough season with Sale, and Olly Hartley, the Saracens inside centre. They came through the Wasps ranks together, shared the club's academy house and now form part of a promising new generation of English midfielders. Although it has been a threadbare position for England of late, the uncapped prospects being monitored by Steve Borthwick, the head coach, include Oscar Beard, Max Ojomoh, Joseph Woodward, Seb Atkinson, Hartley and Ma'asi-White. 'There is lots of competition there,' Ma'asi-White says. 'I am a big fan of Seb Atkinson. Olly is a big threat when it comes to ball-carrying. He can play with the ball as well. He is a good guy. 'I want to play my best rugby over the next couple of weeks and hopefully push through, whether it can be England A opportunities coming up or the senior squad. That is down to me. I need to keep doing my thing in the middle.' The prospect of fielding some Tongan muscle in the red rose midfield is an enticing one for Borthwick, who invited Ma'asi-White to England A training last year. One of the most prized assets in the modern game is a centre who can dominate the gainline and is also blessed with a deftness of touch. Sione Tuipulotu, the Scotland captain, is the benchmark in that regard. Ma'asi-White studies Tuipulotu, as he studied Ma'a Nonu while growing up as the youngest sibling in a rugby-mad family. Ma'asi-White's father, Vili, played at the 2003 World Cup and won 36 caps for Tonga. He played for Ampthill until he was 41 and now coaches. When Vili was playing for Leeds, he was friends with Andy Tuilagi and, by extension, the whole clan. They would come over to the house for drinks. Ma'asi-White was a young boy at the time who supported Leicester Tigers because of the Tuilagis. For his 12th birthday he was given a Leicester shirt with Tuilagi on the back. So it was quite something for Ma'asi-White to join Sale when Wasps folded and to be set up in a master-apprentice relationship with Manu Tuilagi. 'It was good to learn from him,' he says. 'He is just so smart. He would give off this energy every day. We would talk about detail on the pitch. We would watch his good clips and my bad ones! He would also keep telling me that the opportunity would come, to stay patient.' That was sage advice. While his former England Under-20 team-mates Henry Arundell, Chandler Cunningham-South and Asher Opoku-Fordjour have won senior Test caps and others are established in the Premiership, Ma'asi-White started this season on loan with Caldy. But Sanderson left room for him in the Sale squad; a show of belief that this could be his breakthrough season in the absence of Tuilagi. Ma'asi-White earned his chance against Toulon in the Champions Cup and took it. A few big confidence-boosting carries and he was off and running. 'He is this good now at 22. Imagine where he is going to be when he is 25,' Sanderson said. 'It is exciting. He's got a good rugby bloodline, a good lineage. Vili, his dad, is a legend. Rugby is in his blood. He is such a natural player. 'You need an inside centre who can own the gainline, a Brad Barritt or a Manu Tuilagi, someone the No10 can tip off too when he is under pressure, someone who can protect the 10's outside shoulder. You need someone you can rely on to win those collisions. 'Ricky is more than a player who just dominates the gainline. He has a softness of hands and the ability to spot a gap and hit a line. That gets you through the tackle but he has the ability to offload it out the back as well. 'In the games he has played he has topped our work-rate stats. We have a rate of high-intensity exposures and he has beaten everyone. You add to that some confidence and some size, because of the power in his genetics, he is going to be some player. He needs to stay fit and keep motivated.' Ma'asi-White insists there is no issue in that regard. His brother, Samson, captained England Under-18 and was on the books at Northampton Saints but had to give up on his dream of becoming a professional rugby player when he fell ill and required a kidney transplant. 'That was a shock,' he says. 'It was very sad. He was developing into a very good hooker when he had to retire. It has definitely motivated me. I felt like I was the only one left so I want to try and be my best and play at a good level.' Ma'asi-White's father watches every minute of Sale training and gives his own feedback before every game. 'He's always on my arse,' Ma'asi-White says, laughing. 'I kind of like it. It pushes me to go further. I am trying to fill Manu's boots by bringing that energy. I want to be a player who can do it all. I want to make my own name.' One of the biggest challenges will be improving his communication. Naturally humble and deferential as the youngest sibling in a Tongan family, Ma'asi-White is also playing in between George Ford and Rob du Preez, two vocal, commanding figures. It can be daunting to speak up in that company. Sale have employed a communications expert to help him find his own voice. 'That is probably his biggest [area for] growth,' Sanderson said. 'He is used to taking instruction. The family humbles you. He needs to step out of that and become a leader, to drive decisions more. George and Rob want him to talk. It is just part of the process. You have to grow into these roles.' Ma'asi-White has gone from the Championship to the Champions Cup and now a Premiership title challenge in one breakthrough season. He is looking forward to catching up with Hartley after the game on Friday night. But first the battle. 'We know what Saracens can do. Good forwards. Smart backs. But our attack has been pretty good the last few weeks,' Ma'asi-White says. 'It's going to be physical. It's going to be a tough battle. We talked about going to war with the brothers. I was ready to go when I left the meeting.' Sale Sharks v Saracens
Telegraph
24-04-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Rekeiti Ma'asi-White: Centre that could be England's next Manu Tuilagi
There was no white smoke involved but in his farewell press conference as a Sale player last June, Manu Tuilagi made sure to anoint Rekeiti Ma'asi-White as his long-term successor in the Sharks midfield. 'He's so exciting, man,' Tuilagi said. 'Do you see him train? He's good. Real good. The thing for Riki is that he has got a big future but he is good now. He is ready to go. He has got the size and skills. I can't wait to see him get that opportunity.' It has taken a while for that opportunity to come. A hamstring niggle delayed the 22-year-old's development this season while the signing of Waisea Nayacalevu meant Ma'asi-White had to drop into the Championship for game time through a loan spell at Caldy. Now, however, having broken into the first team as Sale come to the business end of the season, Ma'asi-White is showing precisely why the usually taciturn Tuilagi was so effusive in his praise. 'Anything that Manu says is special, especially when he honours you,' Ma'asi-White said. 'He has left some big shoes to fill.' While far from exact replicas – not least the best part of 10kg in size – there are obvious similarities, from the Pacific Island DNA to the gain line breaking ability. So it comes as no surprise that Ma'asi-White modelled much of his game on Tuilagi. 'I think I have similar strengths to Manu, having watched him growing up – ball carrying, running threat and hammer D [defence] – I think I hit people pretty well,' Ma'asi-White said. 'Offloading as well comes with the game when it needs to be. I am not looking to force it all the time.' Rekeiti Ma'asi-White is a joy to watch in full flow 😱 Watch live on @rugbyontnt 📺 #GallagherPrem | #NEWvSAL — Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) March 21, 2025 As much as the offloads and sidesteps are lovely added extras, the one message that Tuilagi left with Ma'asi-White, who joined Sale in 2022 following Wasps' demise, was that it was his job to get over the gain line. 'That's pretty much it,' Ma'asi-White said. 'Get your head down and carry. As complicated as rugby can be, sometimes you just need to get your head down and carry hard, especially when things go to s---. 'I did a lot of my reviews with Manu and the main thing I learnt was probably the simple things – work on things you are good at as well as the work-ons. Focus on your strengths, but also little things make a big difference. Whether it will be spacing or talking to the 10 and 13, Fordy [George Ford] and Rob [Du Preez], just a small chat. It will not be the big things. It is never really that complicated. Once you know your role, it is about the detail.' Just four points separate Sale Sharks and Doncaster Knights at the break! Rekeiti Ma'asi-White's try gave the home side the early lead ⤵️ #PremRugbyCup #SALvDON #SaleSharks — Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) February 7, 2025 Aside from Tuilagi, the main influence on Ma'asi-White has been his father, Vili Ma'asi, who played 36 times as a prop for Tonga. He also earned cult hero status at London Welsh, Cornish Pirates and Ampthill, where he played well into his 40s and the club with whom Rekeiti started. While Rekeiti and his brothers were born and raised in England, their father administered his own brand of tough Tongan love as they grew up. 'We had a rowing machine in the back garden and he would abuse us on that, properly abuse us,' Ma'asi-White said. 'Crazy, crazy sets to the point where your brain can't function any more. It translated to when we were playing well for our junior clubs and the other parents were saying these kids are huge. It is not just genetics, he has made us work for it. He would do it all with us, 10km row was his favourite, but eventually he wore it out. That was the happiest day of my life when I heard it was broken.' The rowing machine may be no more but Vili is still there to dish out the instructions at the AJ Bell Stadium. 'My dad is very big on work rate and getting my hands on the ball,' Ma'asi-White said. 'He notices everything. He will tell you from the crowd. Every game I hear it: 'Get up, get up, Run harder, run harder.' After the game, the feedback is usually constructive. But no matter what I do, whether I play well or poorly, he gives me a hug.'
