Ita Vaea (born 9 February 1989) is a former Tongan rugby union player who played for the Brumbies in

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

. His playing position was number eight. He made his Brumbies debut during the

2011 Super Rugby season The 2011 Super Rugby season was the first season of the new 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition, which involved teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Including its past iterations as Super 12 and Super 14, this was the 16t ...

against the Sharks in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. Vaea made 26 appearances for the during the

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

and

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

seasons and signed a contract extension in 2012 to keep him in Canberra until 2014, but was ruled out of the entire

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

and

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

season after a blood clot was discovered on his heart. He returned to action for the Brumbies during the

2015 Super Rugby season The 2015 Super Rugby season was the 20th season of Super Rugby and the fifth season featuring an expanded 15-team format. For sponsorship reasons, this competition was known as Asteron Life Super Rugby in Australia, Investec Super Rugby in New ...

, scoring four tries in seventeen appearances and signed a contract tying him to the Brumbies until 2017. However, after starting four matches during the

2016 Super Rugby season The 2016 Super Rugby season was the 21st season of Super Rugby and the first season featuring an expanded 18-team format. It was also the first season that teams outside Australia, New Zealand and South Africa featured, with the Jaguares from Ar ...

, Vaea was forced to retire from rugby union following ongoing health issues relating to his heart. Vaea attended Nelson College from 2006 to 2007.

References

External links

Brumbies profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaea, Ita 1989 births Tongan rugby union players ACT Brumbies players Rugby union flankers People educated at Nelson College Tongan emigrants to New Zealand Tongan expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in Australia Tongan expatriate sportspeople in Australia Living people New South Wales Country Eagles players Canberra Vikings players