Date of birth | 17 April 1997 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ana-Maria Afuie (born 17 April 1997 )is a Samoan rugby union player. She represents Samoa internationally in rugby union and sevens. She plays at Halfback, Fullback and Wing.
Afuie attended St Catherine's College in Wellington and is of Samoan and Māori descent. Her father is Samoan, her grandmother is from Falefa and her grandfather is from Solosolo and Vailele. Her mother is from Tūrangi and is from Ngāti Tūwharetoa and Ngāti Porou iwi.
Afuie plays provincially for Wellington Pride and club rugby for Marist St Pats. [1] In 2020, she played for the Manusina XV's team against a Port Taranaki Women's Invitational XV. It was a trial match for selectors to finalise the Manusina team. [2] She eventually made the Manusina team, [3] they thrashed Tonga 40–0 and progressed to the Final Qualification Tournament for the 2021 Rugby World Cup. [4]
Afuie was named in the Hurricanes Poua squad for the inaugural season of Super Rugby Aupiki. [5]
In September 2024, she was selected in the Samoan side that competed at the WXV 3 competition in Dubai. [6]
The Samoa national rugby union team represents the Samoa Rugby Union in men's international rugby union. They are also known as "Manu Samoa", which is thought to derive from the name of a Samoan warrior. They perform a traditional Samoan challenge called the siva tau before each game. Samoa Rugby Union were formerly members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) along with Fiji and Tonga. They are ranked 11th in the world.
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