Namatahi Waa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Date of birth | 24 September 1990 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 119 kg (18 st 10 lb; 262 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Te Aute College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation(s) | Rugby player / Arborist | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Namatahi Waa (born 24 September 1990) is a New Zealand rugby union player, who currently plays as a prop for Hawke's Bay in New Zealand's National Provincial Championship competition[1] and previously for Austin Gilgronis in the Major League Rugby (MLR).[2]
Waa hails from Pipiwai in the Northland Region in New Zealand.[3] For his final years of high school (2008-2010) he attended Te Aute College in Hawke's Bay; while there, he played for the college's First XV.[4] He also played for the Hawke's Bay under-18 and under-19 representative teams.
After finishing secondary school, Waa returned home to Northland, but later moved to Auckland where he was named in the Auckland Juniors (U21) squad in 2012[5] and Auckland B squad in 2013.[6]
In February 2014, he was - for the first time - named in the Blues Development squad.[7]
Senior career
In 2014, Waa turned down a contract with Auckland and instead signed with the Northland Rugby Union for the 2014 ITM Cup season.[8] He made his provincial debut for Northland on 17 August 2014 against Manawatu.[9] In that and the following three seasons, he played a total of 29 games for the Taniwha.
On 28 October 2015, Waa was named in the Blues wider training group ahead of the 2016 Super Rugby season.[10] He made his Blues and Super Rugby debut, off the bench, on 8 April 2015 against the Chiefs.[11] He played two more games for the Blues.[12]
In 2019, Waa returned to Hawke's Bay and played for Taradale Rugby and Sports in the province's club rugby competition, hoping to make the Magpies squad.[13] On 5 August 2019, he was named in the Hawke's Bay squad for the 2019 Mitre 10 Cup season.[14] He made his Magpies debut against Manawatu on 11 August 2019.[15]