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.jpg) Paia'aua representingToulon during theEPCR Challenge Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1995-01-20)20 January 1995 (age 30) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Porirua, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 91 kg (201 lb; 14 st 5 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Emmaus College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Duncan Paia'aua (born 20 January 1995) is a professionalrugby union player who plays as acentre forTop 14 clubToulon. Born in New Zealand, he representsSamoa at international level.
Paia'aua was born inPorirua, New Zealand but moved to Melbourne with his family at three years of age, and then settling in Rockhampton in 2002 playing junior league for Rockhampton Brothers.[1] He played rugby at high school in Rockhampton and was twice selected for the Queensland Under 16 team.[1]
He was chosen in the under 20 Junior Wallabies and competed in the Junior World Cup in Italy, June 2015, scoring 5 points for Australia.
Paia'aua initially came through the Queensland Rugby Union's youth structures before switching torugby league and linking up with theBrisbane Broncos where he represented their under-20s in the National Youth Competition.[1] However, in August 2014 it was announced that he had switched back to rugby union and signed a 2-year contract with the Queensland Reds ahead of the2015 Super Rugby season.[2] He subsequently played 1 game forQueensland Country in the first everNational Rugby Championship,[3][4] leading them to victory in 2018 and runner-up in 2019 as captain. He made his debut for the Queensland Reds in round 1, 2015 against the Brumbies in Canberra.[5] His outstanding performance caught the eyes of major international recruiters. Paia'aua currently plays 10 or 12 atRC Toulon.
On 28 October 2017, Paia'aua started for the Wallabies against the Barbarians at Allianz Stadium, Sydney. He represented Australia at the Wallabies v Barbarians game in 2017 where he scored 16 of the 31[6] points although it was not officially designated a test match.
He finally made his international debut – for Samoa, his parents’ birthplace – against Italy in the 2022 end of year internationals. His second cap, against Georgia, ended in a red card for a dangerous tackle. He was suspended for four matches.
He represented Samoa at the2023 Rugby World Cup scoring tries against Chile and Japan.
