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| Full name | Jack Taualii Afamasaga | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1984-06-02)2 June 1984 (age 41) Lower Hutt, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 184 cm (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 106 kg (16 st 10 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Second-row, Lock | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Jack Taualii Afamasaga (born 2 June 1984), also known by thenickname of"Skuks", is a New Zealand formerrugby union and professionalrugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. He played at club level for theParramatta Eels, theManly-Warringah Sea Eagles, theCronulla-Sutherland Sharks, theMelbourne Storm in theNational Rugby League, theWestern Suburbs Rosellas in theNewcastle Rugby League competition, with stints in theQueensland Cup and France, as asecond-row orlock.
Afamasaga was born inLower Hutt, New Zealand, and is ofSamoan heritage.
Afamasaga is a cousin ofHurricanes andAll Blacks playerMa'a Nonu.[1] He is eligible to representSamoa.[3]
Afamasaga originally began playingrugby union in his youth, playing for the 1st XV team at Waiopehu College inLevin (the same high school attended by former All BlackCarlos Spencer) and working his way up through several representative teams before he was eventually selected by theWellington Hurricanes in their schoolboy team.
In 2002, at age 18, and after several seasons in the Hurricanes' youth system playing in the centres Afamasaga was spotted byParramatta Eels rugby league scoutMark Horo and was signed to the Australian club on a development deal.
He began playing in the junior grades at the Parramatta club during the2003 season, impressing with his skill, power, and pace. Afamasago made his first grade debut during the2004 season against theWests Tigers atLeichhardt Oval. He then went on to play five games for the club and showed glimpses of the great potential he possessed eventually going on to win theEric GrotheRookie of the Year award.
During the next two seasons with the club, Afamasaga played another six games but could not hold down a permanent first-grade position.
Afamasaga was offered a new deal at Parramatta at the completion of the2006 NRL season but signed for theManly-Warringah Sea Eagles instead, deciding to chase a regular first grade spot. He appeared in the 2007 Grand Final, which Manly lost to Melbourne.
However, after failing to crack a regular first-grade spot in 2008 (only playing 2 matches) he has now been released by Manly.[4]
In the2009 NRL season, Afamasaga played ten matches for Cronulla as the club missed the finals.[5]
Afamasaga was signed to a trial deal with theMelbourne Storm for the rest of the 2011 season. Signed before the 30 June deadline, Afamasaga was free to play with the Victorian side and their feeder team on theCronulla-Sutherland Sharks. He had recently been playing in France forRC Lescure-Arthes XIII, and played in theQueensland Cup for theWynnum Manly Seagulls in 2010.[6]
After his stint with Storm, Afamasaga moved toNewcastle, New South Wales to play with theWestern Suburbs Rosellas for the 2012 season.
In 2009 he was named as part of theSamoan squad for the2009 Pacific Cup.[7]