Lukhan Salakaia-Loto


Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, is an Australian rugby union player. He plays for the Queensland Reds in Super Rugby, and his usual position is lock but he has also played in the backrow for the Wallabies particularly at blindside flanker.

Family and early life

Lukhan Herman Lealaiauloto Tui was born to parents Herman Lealaiauloto and Teresa Tuimaseve, his mother, at Otara, South Auckland in New Zealand before he moved with his mother to Sydney, Australia, at a young age.
He changed his name to Lukhan Salakaia-Loto later as an adult in 2018 following the death of the stepfather who had raised him, hyphenating Salakaia as the surname of his late stepfather, mother and siblings with Loto from part of his birth father's last name. Lukhan's Samoan bloodline comes from the villages of Lelepa in Savaii and Faleula in Upolu.
Lukhan attended John Edmondson High School in Liverpool. He initially played junior rugby league and was selected in age-group teams for Western Suburbs, and NSW Samoa.

Rugby career

He joined the Randwick club in 2014 to play rugby union for their colts side. In 2015, he played for Randwick's first grade Shute Shield team, and was named for the Australia under-20 team that played in the World Junior Championship in Italy.
Later in 2015, he signed a three-year deal with the Queensland Reds. Tui made his Super Rugby debut for the Reds against the in Pretoria on 16 April 2016.
He was selected in the squad for the National Rugby Championship in 2015, but did not play for that side due to injury. He made his NRC debut the following season for the team.
In 2017, national coach Michael Cheika named Lukhan Tui on the bench for in the match against at Bloemfontein, and he made his international debut on 30 September 2017, replacing Adam Coleman after the first hour in a 27-all tied Test.