Asafo Aumua

Asafo Junior Aumua (born 5 May 1997) is a New Zealand professional rugby union player who plays as a hooker for New Zealand franchise Hurricanes and the New Zealand national team.

Asafo Junior Aumua was born on 5 May 1997 in Wellington, the son of Tautua and Lisa Aumua.

The Aumua family are of Samoan descent.

Growing up in Naenae, he attended Naenae Intermediate School and St. Patrick's College Silverstream.

While at secondary school, Aumua was chosen to play for Silverstream first XV at the age of fifteen.

He spent three years representing the side, winning two regional sevens titles and was a part of two unbeaten runs through the round robin of the WelTec premiership.

In rugby sevens, Aumua was named player of the tournament at the Marist College event, and joined the New Zealand Marist sevens squad for their tour of Samoa.

He primarily played hooker, but also played second five-eighth, prop, and number 8 at first XV level.

After his last year at Silverstream, Aumua was enrolled into the 26-man New Zealand Secondary Schools team for a three-match international series in Australia.

He was involved in a 24-point victory over Australian Schoolboys, where he scored a try that was recognised by Green and Gold Rugby journalist Nic Darveniza as try of the match, extending New Zealand's lead in the second half.

In his youth, he was selected to play in the 2016 and 2017 World Rugby Under 20 Championships for New Zealand.

Aumua represents the Wellington provincial team and made his professional debut for the union in 2016 at the age of 19.

Aumua was one of six Wellington players to represent New Zealand at the World Rugby Under 20 Championships in Manchester in June 2016.

The following year, he was named to travel to Tbilisi, in his second Under 20 World Championship campaign.

New Zealand won their sixth title after defeating England 64–17 in a record score in a final, scoring ten tries to three.

Aumua scored a hat-trick, including one solo try in which he beat no less than six defenders.

He became only the second player to score a hat-trick in a final.

During the 2016 season, at 19 years old, he made his first professional team debut when he came on as a reserve forward during the opening match against Hawke's Bay at McLean Park.

Representing the Wellington under-19 team in Taupō, Aumua was ordered back after Leni Apisai failed concussion protocols in preparation against Northland.

He scored three tries in the fixture, making him just the fourth hooker to register a hat-trick in the competition's history.

Aumua was the side's leading try-scorer with six in 10 games.

He won a championship with Wellington in 2017 and was named NZRU Age Grade Player of the Year.

He has scored 38 career tries in all competitions.

Aumua made his senior international debut for New Zealand in November 2017 at the age of 20, becoming one of the youngest players to represent New Zealand.

He played in the 2017 northern end-of-year tour.

His performance at national age grade level in 2017 impressed Wellington head coach Chris Gibbes ahead of the 2017 Mitre 10 Cup, and he was subsequently renamed in the squad for their upcoming season.

Aumua started well for Wellington, scoring three tries through the first three games of the competition.

His scoring ability was noted after beating outside back defender George Bridge for a 60 m solo try.

It saw Aumua place fourth-equal in the overall leading try-scorers with fellow front rower and teammate, Alex Fidow on seven tries each.

Following his 2017 provincial campaign, Aumua was called up into the All Blacks for the 2017 end of year tour despite the fact that he had not even made his Super Rugby debut.

He debuted for New Zealand alongside Matt Duffie and Tim Perry against the Barbarian F.C. in November 2017, replacing Nathan Harris off the bench in the 67th minute.

Aumua was denied a potential try due to a forward pass from Hurricanes team-mate Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, but the All Blacks still managed to beat the Barbarians 31–22.

He also replaced Harris off the bench 10 days later in a midweek game against a French XV selection, helping New Zealand win 28–23.

Because neither of those fixtures was tests, Aumua would still await his test debut.

He spent two seasons at the Bunnings NPC side, before earning a place in the Hurricanes 2018 Super Rugby squad.

Aumua made his debut for the Hurricanes, against the Canterbury-based side the Crusaders, on 10 March 2018 during round 4 of the 2018 Super Rugby season.

Aumua replaced Ricky Riccitelli in the second half of the match, with the Hurricanes winning against the Crusaders 29–19.

Aumua performed well in all four of his 2018 Super Rugby appearances but was ruled out for the rest of the 2018 Super Rugby season due to a fractured wrist sustained against the Sharks during a narrow 38–37 victory in April 2018.

Aumua's rehabilitation period was scheduled for 12 weeks.

Following a wrist injury, Aumua appeared in Wellington's 31-man squad announcement after head coach Chris Gibbes released their premiership side in August 2018.