Maurie Fa'asavalu

Maurie Fa'asavalu (born 12 January 1980) is a former professional rugby union and rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. He has played representative level rugby union (RU) for Samoa, and at club level for Taula Apia Rugby Union, Harlequins and Oyonnax, and representative level rugby league (RL) for Great Britain and England, and at club level for St. Helens. He was selected for the Great Britain national rugby league team squad in 2007, after living in England for 4 years. He returned to rugby union in October 2010, having signed for Harlequins for the 2010–11 English Premiership season.[7] He then transferred to Oyonnax in France.

Maurie Fa'asavalu
Personal information
Full nameMaurie Fa'asavalu
Born (1980-01-12) 12 January 1980
Moto'otua, Western Samoa
Playing information
Height1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight112 kg (17 st 9 lb)[1]
Rugby union
PositionFlanker
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
Taula Apia RU
2010–14 Harlequins 85 5 0 0 25
2014-–18 Oyonnax 62 4 0 0 20
Total 147 9 0 0 45
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2002- Samoa 28 2 0 0 10
Rugby league
PositionProp
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2003–10 St Helens 164 39 0 0 156
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2007 Great Britain 2 1 0 0 4
2008–09 England 3 1 0 0 4

Rugby union career

Fa'asavalu played for Samoa at the 2003 Rugby World Cup.

He was signed by the then St. Helens coach Ian Millward in the winter of 2003 after a series of outstanding performances playing at flanker for Samoa in the 2003 Rugby World Cup. On his return to rugby union, he also featured in the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Harlequins managed to lure the Great Britain (RL), and Samoan (RU) international back to rugby union. "A player of Maurie's talent and ability will be a great asset to Quins," said Quins' Director of Rugby Conor O'Shea, "I have no doubt that he will be able to make an immediate impact on returning to union. He will bring experience and a new dimension to our options and is exactly the type of person we want at this club." He started for Harlequins in their 2011–12 English Premiership Final victory over Leicester Tigers.[8]

On 4 April 2014, Maurie signed for French side Oyonnax who compete in the Top 14 on a two-year contract.[9]

Rugby league career

Fa'asavalu made his début on 13 March 2004 against Leeds Rhinos in a 24 – 14 victory at Knowsley Road. Fa'asavalu took some time to adjust to rugby league, but developed into an important part of the St. Helens squad in 2006. He was however used primarily as an impact player, starting most games from the interchange bench. Fas'asavalu was unlucky not to receive the Lance Todd Trophy for his performance in the 2006 Challenge Cup Final victory, where he scored a try in the 2006 and his performance against Huddersfield Giants earned widespread praise. St. Helens fans were treated to Fa'asavalu's victory dance in both the 2006 Challenge Cup Final and the Grand Final for 2006's Super League XI. His block busting runs and inimitable try celebrations saw him develop a real following on the terraces at Knowsley Road. In total he scored 10 tries in 28 games during the 2006 season. St Helens reached the 2006 Super League Grand final to be contested against Hull FC, and Fa'asavalu played from the interchange bench in Saints' 26-4 victory. This was followed by 9 tries in 30 games in the 2007 season. He played in 2007's Super League XIII Grand Final, 2008's Super League XIII Grand Final, and 2009's Super League XIV Grand Final defeats all against the Leeds Rhinos.[10] On 27 October 2007, Fa'asavalu scored on his début for Great Britain against New Zealand in Huddersfield, helping the British team to a 20–14 victory. Five minutes after he came on as a substitute in the 18th minute, Fa'asavalu used his great stature to break through 3 New Zealand players to score the try.

Fa'asavalu was selected for the England squad to compete in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup tournament in Australia.[11] Group A's first match against Papua New Guinea he played from the interchange bench in England's victory. He played 3 games for the England team in the World Cup, in the process breaking his hand in the defeat against Australia.

He played in the 2009 Super League Grand Final defeat by the Leeds Rhinos at Old Trafford.[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]

He missed a major part of the 2010 season after being injured. His last game for St. Helens was in the home victory over Leeds Rhinos.

References
  1. "Harlequins 1st XV". web page. Harlequins. 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  2. "Statistics at en.espn.co.uk". espn.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  3. "Profile at loverugbyleague.com". loverugbyleague.com. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  4. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  5. "England Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  6. "Great Britain Statistics at englandrl.co.uk (statistics inexplicably missing)". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  7. "Quins lure international back to Union". planetrugby.com. 16 July 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  8. "Harlequins 30-23 Leicester". BBC Sport. 26 May 2012. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  9. "Oyonnax sign Samoa back-row Maurie Fa'asavalu from Harlequins". Phoenix SM. 4 April 2014.
  10. "2008 Grand Final". BBC. 4 October 2008. Retrieved 5 October 2008.
  11. "Purdham earns World Cup call-up". BBC. 7 October 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
  12. "Rhinos Take Super League Title". Sky News. 11 October 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  13. Burke, David (11 October 2009). "Smith's Crisp". The Daily Mirror. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  14. AFP (11 October 2009). "Leeds makes it Super League hat-trick". ABC News. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  15. AAP (11 October 2009). "Leeds claim third successive Grand Final". National Rugby League. Archived from the original on 3 October 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  16. Linfoot, Ben (10 October 2009). "Grand Final: Leeds Rhinos 18 St Helens 10". Sky Sports. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  17. Correspondent (12 October 2009). "Potter refuses to blame video ref". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  18. Fletcher, Paul (10 October 2009). "St Helens 10-18 Leeds Rhinos". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  19. "Third time unlucky as Saints fail to halt Rhinos' charge to title". Liverpool Daily Post. 12 October 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  20. "Sinfield hails winning culture". The Daily Mirror. 11 October 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  21. Stewart, Rob (12 October 2009). "Lee Smith targets place in England rugby union team after Grand Final victory". The Telegraph. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  22. "Sinfield hails historic title win". BBC Sport. 11 October 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  23. "Leeds Rhinos fans in homecoming welcome". Yorkshire Evening Post. 12 October 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
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