Laki Tasi steps from the rugby pitch to the gridiron through NFL International Player Pathway Program

Jun 02, 2025 at 03:03 PM

Levi Edwards

Digital Team Reporter

Laki Tasi has found himself in uncharted territory – in more ways than one.

The 6-foot-6, 348-pound behemoth of a man is still not too familiar with American football, or American culture for that matter. His football journey started roughly a year ago, while he was still playing premier rugby down under.

The Goodna, Australia, native started playing the sport when he was 12 years old, following in the footsteps of his two older brothers who played professional rugby. He even labeled rugby as "the one way out" to provide for a better life for his family. He ultimately made his way to the Ashgrove GPS Rugby Club of the Queensland Premier Rugby Union.

Ironically, the 21-year-old realized just how good he could've become at rugby shortly before transitioning to a brand new sport.

"I was just a big kid, out of breath after 10 minutes on the field," Tasi joked. "I was just trying to find my footing, whether I was going to take this serious or not. I started to realize last year, but I'm still young and any time is the perfect time."

American football wasn't really something Tasi dreamed of. His brothers were fans of the sport during his upbringing, but he was not as invested. The first person who recommended he give football a try was a rugby manager and family friend from Melbourne, Australia, who happens to own a local burger joint near him.

"He was telling me, 'You have a good body as an offensive lineman or a defensive lineman,'" Tasi said. "So I told myself I have to look up what the NFL is all about. ... I was just more into work, rugby and training. Once I looked it up I was like, 'Damn, this is really big.'"

With his interest peaked, the manager starting throwing Tasi's name around to scouts in Australia. In a public workout, he showcased his size and athleticism for league scouts in attendance. Then, this past January, he was one of 13 players to be in the 2025 class of the International Player Pathway and proceeded to train for 10 weeks at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

IPP ➡️ Las Vegas @Raiders

From Rugby to @NFL — Laki Tasi joins Raider Nation! 🇼🇸🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/QmhILqI2xk
— NFL Australia & NZ (@NFLAUNZ) April 30, 2025

The first Australian to come through the IPP program, which began in 2017, was Philadelphia Eagles starting left tackle Jordan Mailata, who earned a Super Bowl title and Second-Team All-Pro selection in 2024.

Like Mailata, Tasi is of Samoan descent and made the transition to football from premier rugby.

"I feel like if what he did was possible, what can I do?" Tasi said. "He won the Super Bowl [but] it took him three years to actually make it on the squad. I feel like I can make it too. Everything is possible in the realm of football. I give props to him because he put the NFL IPP on the map."

While Tasi was initially linked to sign with the Detroit Lions, he ultimately landed with the Las Vegas Raiders as an undrafted free agent – citing good early conversations with their scouts as a deciding factor. Early in OTAs, the Raiders are allowing Tasi to work with the offensive and defensive lines in drills and team period.

"Humongous athlete," defensive line coach Rob Leonard said of his first impression of Tasi. "That's a great kid. He's never played football before so he's trying to figure it out."

Considering his lack of experience, the Raiders will be patient with Tasi to help unveil his full potential. A reason of optimism for the lineman is his background in rugby, a sport he sees sharing a lot of the same objectives as American football.

"It's pretty much just staying forward on the ground," Tasi said. "You have to stay low, low movements – that's what we get in rugby. You have to hit low, tackle low, run lower and it's just the same if you're a defensive or offensive player. I'm glad there's some similarities."

"With Coach BD [Brennan Carroll], Coach Andy Dickerson and Kyle Fuller – those guys have been helping me 24/7," Tasi added. "It's just like, 'Hey, this is what you're going to do every day from now on.' Telling me to study the playbook, get the footwork right. Those guys have pretty much been helping me since day one. It's all about bringing value to the team. Either way, I could pull offensive or defensive line so no matter what, I can play both ends."

The team is permitted one roster exemption for a qualifying international player from the start of the club's offseason program through the roster reduction to 53 players. Qualifying international players can then be signed as a 17th practice squad roster spot reserved for international athletes across any of the 32 teams if they don't make the active roster.

Related Links

1 / 98

Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Darnay Holmes (30) at an Organized Team Activity (OTA) at Intermountain Health Performance Center.