Sam Moa

Samuela "Sam" Moa (born 14 August 1986) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the FC Lézignan XIII in the French Elite One Championship. He is both Tonga and New Zealand international.

Sam Moa
Personal information
Full nameSamuela Moa
Born (1986-08-14) 14 August 1986
Tonga
Height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight16 st 7 lb (105 kg)
Playing information
PositionProp
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2008 Cronulla Sharks 1 0 0 0 0
2009–12 Hull F.C. 78 7 0 0 28
2013–16 Sydney Roosters 98 9 0 0 36
2017–20 Catalans Dragons 80 8 0 0 32
2021– FC Lézignan XIII 0 0 0 0 0
Total 257 24 0 0 96
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2006–17 Tonga 10 0 0 0 0
2013–16 New Zealand 9 2 0 0 8
As of 22 December 2020 (UTC)
Source: [1][2]

Moa has previously played for the Cronulla Sharks and the Sydney Roosters, with whom he won the 2013 Telstra Premiership in the NRL, and Hull F.C. in the Super League.

Background

Moa was born in Tonga and raised in New Zealand.

Playing career

Wests Tigers

Moa started his career at NRL side Wests Tigers.

Cronulla Sharks

He then signed with the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in 2008 and playing in one National Rugby League match.

Hull FC

He was signed by Hull F.C. in January 2009 and arrived a week before the club's fixture with Huddersfield Giants which he featured off the bench in his debut. Moa is good friends with former Hull F.C. and Tonga teammate Willie Manu and former Hull F.C. and Tonga teammate Epalahame Lauaki (now at Bradford Bulls). The trio were commonly known by the Hull fans as 'The Tongan Mafia'.

Sam Moa with a dominant run in the Roosters victory against Warriors 2014

Sydney Roosters

Sam signed for the Sydney Roosters for the 2013 NRL season, winning the premiership with them at the end of the season. Many observed that Moa's performance in the grand final was particularly memorable, flattening Manly's Glenn Stewart with an aggressive kick-off return in the 1st minute. Controversially, Moa was not the Churchill Medallist with this being awarded to the Sea Eagles' half-back Daly Cherry-Evans.

Catalans Dragons

Moa joined the French side ahead of the 2017 Super League season.

He played in the 2018 Challenge Cup Final victory over the Warrington Wolves at Wembley Stadium.[3]

Moa playing for Tonga

On 2 December 2020 it was reported that Moa would leave the club at the end of the 2020 season[4]

FC Lézignan XIII

On 11 December 2020 it was reported that Moa had signed for FC Lézignan XIII[5]

International career

Tonga

Moa first played for Tonga in 2006 as part of the 2008 World Cup qualifying series.

Moa was subsequently picked in the 2008 World Cup squad and went on to feature in all three of Tonga's matches at the tournament.

New Zealand

He declared himself eligible for selection for New Zealand at the next world cup citing his desire to be part of a world cup winning squad. Despite playing for Tonga against Samoa in the Pacific Rugby League International in April 2013, he played for New Zealand in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup.[6]

References
  1. loverugbyleague
  2. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  3. "Catalans Dragons beat Warrington in Challenge Cup final to make history". Guardian. 25 August 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  4. "Sam Moa: Catalans Dragons prop leaves after not being offered new contract". BBC Sport. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  5. "Sam Moa has found a new club". www.loverugbyleague.com. 11 December 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  6. "Rugby League World Cup 2013: NZ star Williams opts out". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
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