Introduction
Sio Tomkinson (born 27 May 1996) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a midfield back forOtago in New Zealand's domestic Mitre 10 Cup and theHighlanders in the international Super Rugby competition.
Early career
Hailing from Otago on New Zealand's South Island, Tomkinson was originally schooled at Kavanagh College in Dunedin before switching to Otago Boys' High School in 2011.He enjoyed a hugely successful time with Otago Boys', winning the Highlanders' first XV competition in each of his seasons with the school as well as scoring a record number of points in a year, more than 450 in 2014.After leaving school, he began playing for the Harbour Hawks in the local Otago club rugby competition.
Senior career
After signing a 2-year deal with the Otago Razorbacks in 2015, Tomkinson debuted for his home province in round 4 of the ITM Cup, a 17-34 defeat at home toTasman.In total he played 6 games in his first year at provincial level as the Razorbacks finished 3rd on the championship log before going down comprehensively toWellington in the competition's semi-finals.He got more game time as a 20-year-old in 2016, playing 10 of Otago's 12 games throughout a year which ended with them in 1st place on the championship log before they surprisingly lost out toNorth Harbour in the final which consigned them to another season of championship rugby in 2017.
Super Rugby
An impressive debut season for the Razorbacks in provincial rugby in 2015 saw him named as a member of theHighlanders wider training group ahead of the 2016 Super Rugby season.The presence of experienced backline players such as Malakai Fekitoa, Matt Faddes and Rob Thompson in the Highlanders set-up meant that Tomkinson had to spend the year kicking his heels on the sidelines, however, in 2017, new 'Landers head-coach, Tony Brown promoted him to the senior squad.
International
Tomkinson represented New Zealand Schools in 2014, scoring a try and being named MVP in their 34-24 win over Australia.He was also a member of the New Zealand Under-20 side which finished 5th in the 2016 World Rugby Under 20 Championship in England, scoring 2 tries in 5 matches.