Tight-head prop, Duane Aholeiei, has completed his move from Dubai Tigers to the Dubai Exiles for the upcoming UAE and West Asia Premiership rugby season.
Duane, who comes from Nuku’alofa in Tonga, has played rugby in four different countries. He was in Australia with the Manly Marlins and in Picton, New Zealand, with Waitohi before a 2019 move to French Pro 14 side ASM-Rugby (Clermont Auvergne).
After playing tight-head in arguably the highest level of professional rugby in Europe, Duane moved to USA’s Major League Rugby with Rugby ATL in Los Angeles who were one of MLR’s expansion teams of the 2020 season.
His experience, leadership, and contribution to the Rugby ATL changing room earned him a 2 year contract extension to play through to the end of the 2022 MLR season.
Duane, the younger brother of former Melbourne Rebels and London Welsh prop, Eddie Aholelei, gained international recognition with his home country of Tonga in the 2017 World Rugby Pacific Challenge competition hosted in Fiji.
The opening game against the Fiji Warriors, in the ANZ Stadium, was a thriller, with the hosts eventually getting over the finish line by 38 points to 30.
In their second game Tonga defeated Samoa ‘A’ 30 – 22 before playing another thriller, this time against Junior Japan, losing out by 33 points to 42.
As well as pulling on the black shirt of Dubai Exiles RFC for the 2024-25 season, Duane will be joining the Dubai Exiles Under 11s coaching team and imparting his exceptional experience and knowledge to our young rugby players.
Welcome to Dubai Exiles RFC Duane!
