Part of the well-known Wellington-Samoan Tiatia family, and brother of 57-cap Hurricane and 2000 All Black Filo, Ace Tiatia spent a season each with the Highlanders and the Crusaders prior to his 1999 one-match stint with the Hurricanes as a replacement player.

But despite being every bit as promising as Filo in schoolboy and age-group rugby, where he played for New Zealand U19 and the New Zealand Colts, Ace was never quite able to stamp his mark in one place or in one position.

Like Filo, Ace was originally a blockbusting loose forward, but reinvented himself for moderate success as a hooker, playing one season for Otago in the 1996 NPC, one for the Highlanders in 1997 and one for the Crusaders in 1998. He played for Wellington between 1997 and 1999, before a season with North Harbour in 2000.