mens
international
Ex France U20s and former Hawke’s Bay lock Patrick Tuifua has been given a “20 to 40 per cent” chance of ever playing rugby again after a mismanaged knee injury derailed his Toulon career.
The dual-qualified lock turned heads when he played for the France U20s in 2024, sparking a recruitment war between New Zealand and France. The New Caledonian continued his rugby in Hawke’s Bay in the NPC, where he was schooled, to go on to Super Rugby Pacific road. When he missed Hurricanes complete line-up in 2025. Toulon he came with a deal that knocked the NZ club out of contention.
On his return to France with Top 14 The Tuifu giants suffered a serious right knee injury in October 2025 against Clermont. After a 10-month layoff, he finally returned for the last ten minutes of Saturday’s match against La Rochelle.
In an interview with Var-Martin, the 22-year-old revealed that he has been given a 20-40 per cent chance of playing again, prompting him to consider retirement.
“The knee started to bother me, until it gave way. I had to have an operation in Lyon,” Var-Martin said.
“At that point, the doctor told me that I had between 20 and 40% chance of coming back. But I decided to do my best for these ten months to recover and try to come back.
Tuifua revealed it was the same injury he picked up in New Zealand during the NPC and believes returning too soon has caused a relapse.
“Actually, it’s the same injury I’ve had since New Zealand. I did rehab, but I came back too soon. I should have taken more time,” he said.
“In the end, it wasn’t healed enough. But it’s much better now. The surgery went well.”
The Hurricanes made a three-year counter offer to try and keep Tuifua, but the Toulon package proved irresistible.
They were happy to see a prospect take on a life-changing contract in the Top 14.
“We offered him a three-year contract to stay, but it’s probably a slightly different package than that Toulon can offer,” said Hurricanes head coach Laidlaw.
“He’s French. He played for the French under-20s and his family speaks French. His parents see it as the path they want their son to take, and we support it.”
“We would like him to stay and we have offered him a contract to stay and continue to develop him. He is a young player with a high ceiling but he has a long way to go before he is fully ready for Super Rugby.”
“We’re disappointed to see him go, but we support him. It could be life-changing with the kind of contract you can earn in France and he sees that route as his path… we wish him the best.”
