Moana Pasifika have secured the services of Tasman Mako midfielder, Levi Aumua. The former-Blues centre has returned to New Zealand after the Japanese Top League season was cancelled due to COVID-19. The 27-year-old is back with Tasman for the 2021 provincial rugby season and has racked up a total of 35 games for the Mako since his debut in 2017.
Born in New Zealand but Australian-raised, Aumua’s talents have taken him around the globe. In 2015, he made his first-class rugby debut for French Top 14 club, Bordeaux Bègles, before returning to Australia to play in the National Rugby Championship (NRC). In his second season with Brisbane City, Aumua made the move back across the ditch to Nelson where he was selected in the 2017 Tasman Mako squad. He played 27 games between 2017 and 2019 and secured his first Super Rugby contract with the Chiefs in 2018.
The following year, Aumua took his talents to the Blues and impressed with his power, speed and ball-handling skills. The Hino Red Dolphins came knocking after a strong Super Rugby season with the Blues and lured Aumua to Japan in 2020. He then switched Japanese teams this year, playing for the Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi before the season came to a premature end.
A return to New Zealand meant a return to the Tasman Mako. Aumua was a pivotal player for the Mako team that won the Premiership in 2019 and was an exciting inclusion in to the 2021 squad. With a Samoan father and a Fijian mother, Aumua is eligible to play for the Manu Samoa or the Flying Fijians and will bring valuable qualities to the Moana Pasifika squad, both on and off the field.
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