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| Full name | Jordan Kahukuranui | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1991-01-28)28 January 1991 (age 34) Lower Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 184 cm (6 ft 0 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 93 kg (14 st 9 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Wing, Centre, Five-eighth, Fullback | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source:[1] As of 21 May 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Jordan Kahu (born 28 January 1991) is a former professionalrugby league footballer who played as awinger orcentre, fullback for theBrisbane Broncos in theNRL andNew Zealand at international level.
Kahu has played for theBrisbane Broncos and theNorth Queensland Cowboys in theNRL, as well as theWorld All Stars &New Zealand Māori in the "All Star" representative stage.[1]
Born inLower Hutt,New Zealand, Kahu is ofMāori descent specifically theNgāti ToaIwi (tribe). Kahu is short for Jordan's birth surname Kahukuranui. Kahu attended Wellington College and played his juniorrugby union for thePetone Rugby Club withLima Sopoaga before moving to Australia to attendKeebra Park State High School. While at Keebra Park, Kahu captained the school'srugby league side to win the 2009Arrive Alive Cup. Kahu played for the BroncosNYC team in 2010 and 2011, scoring 11 tries and kicking 2 goals in 23 games.[2] Kahu's 2011 and 2012 seasons were shattered by two season ending knee injuries.[3]
In Round 4 of the2013 NRL season, Kahu made hisNRL debut for the Brisbane Broncos against theMelbourne Storm at centre in the 32–26 loss atSuncorp Stadium.[4][5] In the Round 9 match against theParramatta Eels, Kahu scored his first and second NRL tries in the Broncos 19–18 loss atParramatta Stadium.[6] Soon after, Kahu extended his contract with the Broncos for 2 years, keeping him at the club until the end of the 2015 season.[7] He scored 4 tries from 10 appearances in his debut year.
Kahu injured his knee again for a third time in four years in a trial match against theNorth Queensland Cowboys.[8] In Round 19 against theNew Zealand Warriors, Kahu played his first match for the Broncos of the 2014 season playing on the wing for the suspendedDaniel Vidot and scoring a try in the 28–22 win.[9] He finished off theseason playing in 3 matches and scoring three tries.
Due to the injury of incumbent fullbackDarius Boyd during the off-season, Kahu was selected to fill in atfullback showing promising performances in the early rounds.[10] During a "breakout season", Kahu was rewarded with a 2-year contract extension with Broncos, to the end of the 2017 season.[11][12] On 4 October, Kahu played on the wing in the Broncos' 17-16 golden point extra time loss to theNorth Queensland Cowboys in the2015 NRL Grand Final.[13][14] He finished off the2015 season having played in 22 matches, scoring 9 tries and kicking 22 goals.[15] On 9 October, he was selected in the 23-manNew Zealand squad to tour England. Kahu was one of four members of Brisbane's Grand Final team to be included in coach Stephen Kearney's squad for theThree-Test tour and one of six rookies to have received an international call-up by the Kiwis.[16][17] On 2 November, he made his New Zealand international debut againstEngland, playing at centre in the Kiwis' 26–12 loss atKC Stadium.[18]
On 14 November, in the third and final test match againstEngland, he scored his first international try for New Zealand in the Kiwis' 20–14 loss atDW Stadium.[19]
On 13 February, Kahu played for theWorld All Stars against theIndigenous All Stars, playing at fullback in his team's 12–8 win atSuncorp Stadium.[20] In the Round 1 season opening match against theParramatta Eels, he scored the first try of the2016 season in the Broncos' 17–4 win atParramatta Stadium.[21] On 6 May, Kahu played for New Zealand againstAustralia in the2016 Anzac Test, playing at fullback in the 16–0 loss atHunter Stadium.[22][23] Kahu finished the2016 NRL season with him playing in 20 matches, scoring 15 tries and kicking 42 goals for the Broncos. On 21 September 2016, Kahu was added to theNew Zealand national rugby league team train-on squad for the2016 Four Nations.[24] On 3 October 2016, Kahu was selected in the final 24-man squad.[25] Kahu played in 4 matches of tournament including starting at fullback and scoring 2 tries in the Kiwis 34-8 Four Nations Final loss against Australia atAnfield.[26]
In February 2017, Kahu was selected in the Broncos2017 NRL Auckland Nines squad.[27] In Round 1 season opening match against theCronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Kahu put his name in the record books by scoring the first try of the 2017 season in the Broncos 26–18 win atShark Park, Kahu is the first player to score the first try of the season in two consecutive seasons. On 5 May 2017, Kahu played for New Zealand in the2017 ANZAC Test against Australia where he started at centre and kicked 2 goals in the 30–12 loss atCanberra Stadium.[28] On 5 August 2017, Kahu extended his contract with the Broncos to the end of the 2020 season.[29] Kahu finished the2017 NRL season with him playing in 25 matches, scoring 9 tries and kicking 74 goals and 3 field goals for the Broncos. Kahu was in the frame to be selected in the Kiwis2017 Rugby League World Cup squad but opted to sit out the tournament to recover from a groin injury.[30]
In Round 2 of the2018 NRL season, Kahu fractured his jaw in the Broncos' win over theNorth Queensland Cowboys.[31] He returned 10 weeks later in the Broncos' Round 12 win over theParramatta Eels.[32] He finished the 2018 season with 15 games, two tries, seven goals and 22 points, his lowest tally in all categories since 2015.
On 15 February, Kahu represented theMāori All Stars side, kicking a goal in the 14–34 loss to theIndigenous All Stars.[33] On 18 February, Kahu joined theNorth Queensland Cowboys on a one-year deal.[34]
In Round 1 of the2019 NRL season, he made his debut for the Cowboys, starting at fullback in their 24–12 win over theSt George Illawarra Dragons.[35] In Round 17, he fractured his eye socket in the Cowboys' 15–12 win over theSydney Roosters, missing five weeks.[36] He returned in Round 22, playing the final four games of the season.[37] He ended the 2019 season as the Cowboys' top point scorer, with 86 points in 19 games.
On 13 September, it was announced that he would be leaving the Cowboys at the end of the season.[38] With clauses in his previous contract with the Broncos still standing, Kahu returned to the Broncos for the 2019-2020 pre-season.
Hampered by the injuries and indifferent form of their available centres and wingers, Kahu made only two appearances for Brisbane in the2020 NRL season, a year in which the club finished last on the table for the first time in their history.[39]
Kahu announced that he would retire at the end of the2021 NRL season.[40]
| Season | Team | Matches | T | G | GK % | F/G | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 |  Brisbane | 10 | 4 | 0 | — | 0 | 16 |
| 2014 | Brisbane | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 12 |
| 2015 | Brisbane | 22 | 9 | 22 | 68.6% | 0 | 80 |
| 2016 | Brisbane | 20 | 15 | 42 | 79.3% | 0 | 144 |
| 2017 | Brisbane | 25 | 9 | 74 | 78.7% | 3 | 187 |
| 2018 | Brisbane | 15 | 2 | 7 | 77.8% | 0 | 22 |
| 2019 |  North Queensland | 19 | 1 | 40 | 74.1% | 2 | 86 |
| 2020 | Brisbane | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 |
| Career totals | 114 | 43 | 185 | 76.5% | 5 | 547 | |