Cynthia Ta’ala is a sportswoman who has played rugby league for the New Zealand women’s national rugby league team and has captained the Samoa women’s national rugby union team, of which she is now its assistant coach. She has also played for the New Zealand women’s national basketball team. In 2017 Ta’ala began working for Counties Manukau Rugby Football Union in South Auckland, for which she had previously played. Her new role as a women’s rugby development officer gave her the opportunity to start coaching. She is now a World Rugby accredited coach. She is the assistant coach of Manusina Samoa, she also helped coach a Moana Pasifika women’s rugby sevens team. Ta’ala is also a founder-member of the Pacific Advisory Group, which was set up in 2017 to help bridge the gap between Pasifika and non-Pasifika players involved in rugby in Auckland.
