So’oalo came to the Crusaders after dazzling Ireland with a magical try during Samoa’s 40-25 win over the Emerald Isle at Dublin in late 2006, and he quickly showed that performance was not a one off by picking up three tries for the Crusaders during his first campaign. And that was just the beginning. By the time he bowed out of Super rugby in 2001, So’oalo boasted the strike rate of nearly a try a match, having scored 17 from 26 matches for the Crusaders, including a vitally important brilliant individual effort which helped break open the 1999 final at the House of Pain in Dunedin. He had also claimed 20 tries from 27 appearances for Canterbury between 1997 and 2000, including two in the 44-15 demolition of Counties Manukau in the 1997 NPC final.