A pace merchant with dazzling footwork and mean handoff, Telea is a Samoan-South African winger who took his first steps toward professional rugby with Massey Rugby Club in West Auckland.
Massey has produced notable Blues players over the years including Rudi Wolf, Anthony Tuitavake and Viliami Ma’afu.
Telea's father hails from Johannesburg, South Africa but the winger was born in Auckland New Zealand and has proud Samoan heritage and speaks the language.
Having starred as a schoolboy at Massey High School, Telea went straight into the North Harbour Mitre 10 Cup squad right of school and hasn't looked back since.
He made his provincial debut for North Harbour in 2016 against Counties Manukau.
Having made an impact at provincial level, Telea started to catch the eye of the Blues' coaching staff and was included in the Blues A team. He was part of both the Blues and the Hurricanes wider training groups during the 2019 Super Rugby season but was contracted to the Blues for the 2020 Super Rugby season.
By the end of the 2019 Mitre 10 Cup season, he had scored 7 tries in 25 appearances for North Harbour and was announced as a full-time member of the Blues' 2020 Super Rugby squad.
He made his debut against the Chiefs and went on to play all 7 of the Blues' 2020 Super Rugby matches before the competition was brought to a halt due to the global pandemic.
In his first seven games for the Blues, Telea dotted down 5 times for the Blues and was one of the standout performers for the Auckland-based side.
He continued this form early on in the Super Rugby Aotearoa competition and in July 2020 announced a 2-year contract extension with the Blues.
In 2020, he signed a deal with Mitre 10 Cup side, Tasman Makos. Telea played 11 games for the Mako in the 2020 season as they went on to win their second premiership title in a row.
Telea had a mixed 2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa season but returned to form during the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman competition, scoring a try in the final as the Blues defeated the Highlanders 23-15.
After an impressive 2022 Super Rugby season with the Blues, Telea was called in to the All Blacks squad as a replacement.
On November 12, 2022, he got named at 14 in the starting line-up to go up against Scotland. During his debut match he scored two tries.
Ahead of the Rugby World Cup 2023, Telea has been named in the squad for New Zealand.
SC 21/07/2023
Career
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North Harbour Right Wing |
2016 - present |
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Blues Right Wing |
2019 - present |
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North Island Right Wing |
2020 - present |
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New Zealand Right Wing |
2022 - present |
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Tasman Mako Right Wing |
2020 - 2022 |
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Massey High School Right Wing |
