King Vuniyayawa (born 13 March 1995) is a Fijian professional
rugby league footballer who plays as a or for
Hull F.C.
Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and were ...
, on loan for the remainder of the 2024 season from the
Salford Red Devils in the
Betfred Super League and
Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
at international level.
He has previously played for the
New Zealand Warriors in the
NRL
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
and the
Leeds Rhinos in the
Super League
The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...
.
Background
Vuniyayawa was born in
Lautoka, Fiji
Lautoka () is the second largest city in Fiji. It is on the west coast of the island of Viti Levu, in the Ba Province of the Western Division. Lying in the heart of Fiji's sugar cane-growing region, the city has come to be known as the Suga ...
.
Career
New Zealand Warriors
Vuniyayawa made his NRL debut in Round 1, 2020, in the Warriors' 20–0 loss to the
Newcastle Knights.
Leeds Rhinos
On 16 January 2021, it was reported that he had signed for
Leeds in the
Super League
The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...
.
On 9 October, Vuniyayawa signed a two-year contract to join
Salford.
Salford Red Devils
On 9 October 2021
Salford announced the signing of Fijian international King Vuniyayawa on a two-year contract. Following Salford's 30-14 victory over Castleford in May 2022, Vuniyayawa was ruled out of the remainder of the 2022 season with a pectoral injury. Vuniyayawa made a remarkable recovery and made returned to first team action in the resounding Round 26 victory away at Castleford.
In the 2023 Super League season, he played 25 matches for Salford as the club finished 7th on the table and missed the playoffs.
Hull FC (loan)
On 18 Jul 2024 it was reported that he had signed for
Hull FC in the
Super League
The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...
on loan for the remainder of the 2024 season.
International
In 2018, Vuniyayawa was selected to represent vs .
References
External links
Leeds Rhinos profileWarriors profileFiji profile
1995 births
Living people
Fijian rugby league players
Fijian expatriate sportspeople in England
Fiji national rugby league team players
Hull F.C. players
Leeds Rhinos players
New Zealand Warriors players
New Zealand expatriate rugby league players in England
Rugby league second-rows
Rugby league players from Lautoka
{{Fiji-rugbyleague-bio-stub