Height: 198cm Weight: 121kg Born: 19/09/1996 Place of Birth: Auckland, NZ Senior Club: Souths School: John Edmonson High School, NSW
Representative Honours Australian Under 20s (2015-2016) Queensland (2016-) Brisbane City NRC (2016-) Wallabies (2017-) Wallabies v Barbarians (2017)
Given he only started playing Rugby when he was 17, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto’s trajectory in Rugby is something of a marvel. Formerly Lukhan Tui, he changed his surname to Salakaoa-Loto in October 2018 to honour his late stepfather. Standing at 198cm and weighing in at 121kg, with size 19 shoes, Salakaia-Loto is a powerful young man who has worked hard to establish himself as a regular starter for the Reds and has found his groove as a dominant, dynamic lock. Salakaia-Loto made his Reds debut in South Africa in 2016 – a year later he was making his Wallabies debut in the same country. The 2016 season was a breakout one for Salakaia-Loto, as he formed a key part of the packs of the Queensland and Australian Under 20s, as well as Brisbane City in the National Rugby Championship, where he was one of the standout tight forwards. His first full year with Queensland Rugby was also the year he made his St.George Queensland Reds debut against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria. In 2017 he established himself as a regular starter for the Reds, before earning his Test debut against the Springboks. His full skillset and power were on display later in the year when he had a stellar cameo off the bench in the Wallabies’ upset win over the All Blacks in the third Bledisloe Cup Test in Brisbane.
*Please note, the scoring in the National Rugby Championship changed from seasons 1 and 2 to season 3. In 2014 and 2015 tries were worth 5 points, conversions 3 points, penalties/drop goals 2 points. In 2016, tries were worth 6 points, conversions/penalty goals/drop goals 2 points.
Updated 04/12/2018