Jazz Iosefa Tevaga (born 4 September 1995) is a Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League (NRL).

Early years

Tevaga was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, and is of Samoan, Maori and

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

descent. Tevaga played his junior football for the Burnham Chevaliers in Christchurch and

Papakura Sea Eagles The Papakura Sea Eagles are an Auckland rugby league club based in Papakura. The Sea Eagles currently compete in the Fox Memorial competition run by the Auckland Rugby League. History The Papakura Rugby League Club formed in 1931. On March 26 th ...

in Auckland and he attended

Papakura High School Papakura High School (PHS) is a co-educational state secondary school based in the Auckland suburb of Papakura in New Zealand, catering for students from Year 9 to Year 13. The school was established in 1954 and is now made up of a diverse stu ...

, where he played in the 2013 National Secondary School championship and was selected for the tournament team.

Playing career

Holden Cup

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. In 2015 he played both for the Junior Warriors (where he was co-captain) and in the NSW Cup. 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 Robina Stadium, also known by its sponsored name Cbus Super Stadium, is a rectangular football stadium in the Gold Coast suburb of Robina, Queensland. The main usage is as the home ground to the National Rugby League's Gold Coast Titans; t ...

. Originally a lock, Tevaga was converted to a during the 2014 season as he was considered too small for the lock position.

2016

In Round 3 of the

2016 NRL season The 2016 NRL season was the 109th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 19th season run by the National Rugby League. The season started in New Zealand with the annual Auckland Nines, and was followed by the All Stars Match, w ...

, Tevaga made his debut for the New Zealand Warriors against the Melbourne Storm as a replacement for an injured

Issac Luke Issac Luke (born 29 May 1987) is a former New Zealand professional rugby league footballer He previously played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, New Zealand Warriors, St. George Illawarra Dragons, and the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugb ...

in the Warriors 21-14 loss at Mt Smart Stadium. Tevaga became Warrior #209, and played 59 minutes due to an injury to bench hooker

Nathaniel Roache Nathaniel Roache is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League. He previously played for the New Zealand Warriors and the Parramatta Eels in the NRL. Back ...

2017

He played just 4 NRL games for the Warriors in 2017. He represented Samoa in the

2017 Rugby League World Cup The 2017 Rugby League World Cup was the fifteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup tournament and took place in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea between 27 October and 2 December 2017. The tournament featured the national teams ...

and played all four games as the starting hooker, scoring a try in their loss to Tonga.

2018

In 2018 he cemented a position as a bench hooker for the Warriors, filling in for the starting 9

. 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 The 2018 Dally M Awards was presented on Wednesday 26 September 2018. They are the official annual awards of the National Rugby League and are named after Dally Messenger. Dally M Medal Dally M Player of the Year: Roger Tuivasa-Sheck Dally ...

when he was given the first Interchange Player Of The Year award.

2019

Tevaga made 22 appearances for New Zealand in the

2019 NRL season The 2019 NRL season was the 112th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 22nd season run by the National Rugby League. The Sydney Roosters became the first team to win back-to-back Premierships since the Brisbane Broncos in 1992 ...

as the club missed out on the finals.

2020

Tevaga made 12 appearances for New Zealand in the

2020 NRL season The 2020 NRL season was the 113th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 23rd season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 14th consecutive year. ; Notes : : : Pre-season ...

as the club once again missed out on the finals.

2021

In the final round of the

2021 NRL season The 2021 NRL season was the 114th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 24th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 15th consecutive year. Regular season Ladd ...

, Tevaga was sent to the sin bin for fighting in the club's 44-0 loss against the Gold Coast.

2022

Tevaga made a total of 17 appearances for the New Zealand club in the

2022 NRL season The 2022 NRL season is the 115th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 25th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 16th consecutive year. This became the second longest s ...

as they finished 15th on the table.

2023

Tevaga played eleven games for the New Zealand Warriors in the

2023 NRL season The 2023 NRL season is the 116th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 26th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams For the 2023 season, the number of teams in the NRL has increased from sixteen to seventeen with the ...

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.

References

External links

New Zealand Warriors profile2017 RLWC profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tevaga, Jazz 1995 births Living people Junior Kiwis players New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand Māori rugby league players New Zealand Māori rugby league team players New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent New Zealand Warriors players Papakura Sea Eagles players People educated at Papakura High School Rugby league players from Christchurch Rugby league hookers Samoa national rugby league team players Samoan rugby league players