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Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Jazz Iosefa Tevaga | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 4 September 1995 Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 178 cm (5 ft 10 in) [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 98 kg (15 st 6 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Lock, Hooker, Prop | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [2] As of 31 March 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Jazz Iosefa Tevaga (born 4 September 1995) is a Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays as a lock and hooker for the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League (NRL).
Tevaga was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, and is of Samoan, Maori and European descent. [3]
Tevaga played his junior football for the Burnham Chevaliers in Christchurch and Papakura Sea Eagles in Auckland and he attended Papakura High School, where he played in the 2013 National Secondary School championship and was selected for the tournament team. [4]
In January 2014, Tevaga attended a Junior Warriors training camp as an open trialist before being signed by the New Zealand Warriors, and playing in the Holden Cup. On 5 October 2014, Tevaga played at lock in the Warriors 2014 Holden Cup grand final winning team who beat the Brisbane Broncos 34-32. [5] In 2015 he played both for the Junior Warriors (where he was co-captain) and in the NSW Cup. [6] On 2 May 2015, Tevaga played for the Junior Kiwis against the Junior Kangaroos, starting at lock in the 22-20 loss at Cbus Super Stadium. [7] [8]
Originally a lock, Tevaga was converted to a hooker during the 2014 season as he was considered too small for the lock position.
In Round 3 of the 2016 NRL season, Tevaga made his debut for the New Zealand Warriors against the Melbourne Storm as a replacement for an injured Issac Luke in the Warriors 21-14 loss at Mt Smart Stadium. [9] [10] Tevaga became Warrior #209, and played 59 minutes due to an injury to bench hooker Nathaniel Roache. [11]
He played just 4 NRL games for the Warriors in 2017.
He represented Samoa in the 2017 Rugby League World Cup and played all four games as the starting hooker, scoring a try in their loss to Tonga. [12]
In 2018 he cemented a position as a bench hooker for the Warriors, filling in for the starting 9 Issac Luke. He appeared in 20 games, 19 of which from the bench. His performance as a specialist bench player was rewarded at the 2018 Dally M Awards when he was given the first Interchange Player Of The Year award. [13]
Tevaga made 22 appearances for New Zealand in the 2019 NRL season as the club missed out on the finals. [14]
Tevaga made 12 appearances for New Zealand in the 2020 NRL season as the club once again missed out on the finals. [15]
In the final round of the 2021 NRL season, Tevaga was sent to the sin bin for fighting in the club's 44-0 loss against the Gold Coast. [16]
Tevaga made a total of 17 appearances for the New Zealand club in the 2022 NRL season as they finished 15th on the table. [17]
Tevaga played eleven games for the New Zealand Warriors in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished 4th on the table and qualified for the finals. He played in all three finals games as the club reached the preliminary final before being defeated by Brisbane. [18]
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