One of the few Wellingtonians who genuinely feels at home in Christchurch, lock Ross Filipo achieved the honour in 2007 of being the equal leading forward tryscorer in the Rebel Sport Super 14
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with six tries scored. This included his first ever representative hat-trick during the Crusaders 53-0 annihilation of the Western Force at AMI Stadium. He then scored tries for the Junior All Blacks during their wins over Samoa and Tonga in the Pacific Six Nations Cup. The feats didn’t go un-noticed with Filipo receiving a long overdue Test call up against Canada before injury forced an early end to his season. While the 2007 campaign was Filipo’s fourth as a Crusader, it was arguably his best, as the big Wellington lock was one of just six players to feature in every match that the semi-finalists played. Filipo is also a Junior All Black and New Zealand Maori representative. He had a delayed start to the 2008 Crusade, being forced to undergo surgery on his neck, and didn't reappear until round nine against the Chiefs. Filipo has played for the Crusaders since 2004 but has played his representative rugby for Wellington during this time. From next season, however, he will stay in Christchurch and play for Canterbury in the Air New Zealand Cup. A skilful player, Filipo made the end-of-year All Blacks tour to the United Kingdom.
View Ross's Confession