Jason John Eaton (born 21 August 1982) is a former New Zealand

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player. He played as a

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

Early life

Although born in

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

, Eaton grew up on a farm near the small community of Colyton. He attended Feilding Intermediate and then

Palmerston North Boys' High School Palmerston North Boys' High School is a traditional boys school located in Palmerston North, New Zealand. Location Palmerston North Boys' High School has a campus located on Featherston Street between Rangitikei and North Streets in the central ...

Career

Eaton made his provincial debut for Manawatu in 2002, before transferring to

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dist ...

in 2004. He played for Stratford in the Taranaki premier competition. He was picked out of obscurity by

Graham Henry Sir Graham William Henry (born 8 June 1946) is a New Zealand rugby union coach, and former head coach of the country's national team, the All Blacks. Nicknamed 'Ted', he led New Zealand to win the 2011 World Cup. Henry played rugby union for ...

to tour with the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

on their successful Grand Slam Tour of November 2005. At the time, Eaton had not played professional super series rugby. He made his All Black debut aged 23, versus Ireland on that tour. Notably, Eaton played for the Hurricanes 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 ...

where he scored 10 tries and played in 89 games. Eaton had an explosive start with the Hurricanes; scoring a pair of tries against the Western Force in his first match for the Hurricanes at Taranaki’s home ground in New Plymouth. Eaton played 15 test matches for the All Blacks between 2005 and 2009. Eaton played 25 games for Manawatu in 2002–03, scoring three tries. On 21 November 2006 Jason Eaton won the International Rugby Players' Association's (IRPA) international newcomer of the year award. This award is voted on by all international players, with players not allowed to vote for members of their own team. Eaton was named Player of the Year in the 2011 Taranaki side. He left New Zealand in 2013 to briefly play with the Shining Arcs team in Japan before playing for French club

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...

from 2014-2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eaton, Jason 1982 births Living people Rugby union players from Palmerston North New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand international rugby union players Rugby union locks Hurricanes (rugby union) players Taranaki rugby union players Manawatu rugby union players People educated at Palmerston North Boys' High School Māori All Blacks players Urayasu D-Rocks players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Japan New Zealand expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in Japan