Cortez Ratima
The King Country region has several representatives scattered across the Pacific following the 2026 Super Rugby squad namings last week.
Ōtorohanga Rugby Sports Club’s Haereiti Hetet has once again been named in the Fijian Drua squad.
Hetet is the son of the late former King Country, Chiefs and Fiji prop Joe Veitayaki who died last month aged 58.
The Bay of Plenty front-rower follows in his father’s footsteps representing Fiji on the international stage too.
Closer to home, All Blacks players Cortez Ratima and Josh Lord will once again kit up for the Chiefs.
Chiefs Cortez Ratima during the Chiefs v Moana Pasifika, Super Rugby Pacific match, FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. Saturday, 24 May 2025, (Photo by Mark Taylor / action press)
Ratima hails from Piopio and is also part of the Ōtorohanga club, while Lord comes from further south, Ōwhango near Taumarunui.
“I’ve probably got a little bit of a connection to all the [Chiefs] regions, but home is always Taumarunui,” Lord told the News earlier this year.
He was born on the North Shore but the farming and skiing settlement of Ōwhango is where his family roots are. His family still live there.
“Ōwhango is only little but everyone knows everyone and they’re tight knit. It’s a nice place,” Lord said.
“I’d say they’ll be there for a long time.”
After an impressive debut NPC season with Waikato, rangy Ōtorohanga College alumni Dylan Eti returns to the Chiefs having previously been incorporated as a NDC (national development contract) player earlier this year.
Eti was also in the Chiefs Under 20 squad that competed in the annual Super Rugby Under 20 tournament in Taupō.
“I loved training with the Chiefs. It was definitely a step up,” Eti told the News before the tournament.
“It’s an insight into where I want to be fulltime in the future.”
Eti plays his club rugby for Cambridge-based Hautapu.
He’ll feel right at home in the with a handful of clubmates named in the full squad.
