Mat Luamanu (born 25 November 1988) is a New Zealand rugby union player for

Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine re ...

in the Top 14. Luamanu played representative rugby for Wellington from Under-16 through to the Under-21 level, and also played for the Hurricanes Schools team for two years. He represented New Zealand Schools and New Zealand Under-20s, winning the

2008 IRB Junior World Championship The 2008 IRB Junior World Championship was the first annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. All players who were twenty years of age or under on 1 January 2008 were eligible for selection. This competition repla ...

in Wales. He made his provincial debut for Wellington in 2008. Luamanu switched from Wellington to North Harbour for the 2010 ITM Cup, Luamanu shone, scoring hat-tricks on two occasions. Luamanu had a superb season with North Harbour in 2010 NPC competition and was rewarded with selection to the

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

squad in 2011. Luamanu played four games in Super Rugby in 2011 but found his route blocked by the presence of Jerome Kaino. He subsequently had another fantastic season of NPC rugby in 2011 for North Harbour which saw him receiving offers in France and Japan. He opted for Japan and played the 2012–13 and 2013–14 season for

Kyuden Voltex Kyuden Voltex is a Japanese rugby team owned by Kyushu Electric Power Co. (Kyūshū Denryoku). The nickname "Voltex" is a conflation of "Voltage" and "Techniques" and was decided after the team won promotion to the Top League. The team is based ...

in the Top League. A move to northern Italy was next for 2014–15 season as Luamanu joined Benetton Treviso to play in the Pro12 and

European Rugby Champions Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

. Luamanu made his move to England to join Harlequins in the

Aviva Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

from the 2015–16 season. On 11 June 2019, Luamanu travels to France to sign for

in the Top 14 competition from the 2019–20 season.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Luamanu, Mat 1988 births Living people New Zealand rugby union players Harlequin F.C. players Benetton Rugby players Rugby union players from Wellington City New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England Rugby union locks Rugby union flankers Rugby union number eights Expatriate rugby union players in England Aviron Bayonnais players Expatriate rugby union players in France Expatriate rugby union players in Italy New Zealand expatriate rugby union players Wellington rugby union players North Harbour rugby union players Kyuden Voltex players Expatriate rugby union players in Japan Samoa international rugby union players