Mark Nawaqanitawase (; born 11 September 2000) is an Australian professional

rugby union player 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 ...

who plays as a

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for Super Rugby club the Waratahs and the Australia national team.

Early life

Nawaqanitawase is of mixed Fijian and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

heritage, and was born and raised in Burwood,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. Nawaqanitawase played

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

for Concord-Burwood Wolves and

Leichhardt Wanderers The Leichhardt Wanderers are a rugby league club based at Leichhardt, New South Wales. They compete in the Sydney Combined Competition. Their jersey is traditionally predominantly Red and Black. In recent years they have included white in their ...

in his youth, until he swapped over to

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 it ...

at 14-years-old.

Rugby union career

Domestic rugby

Nawaqanitawase's primary playing position is

, however he is also capable at fullback. Nawaqanitawase played schoolboy rugby for

St Patrick's College, Strathfield , motto_translation = Matthew 5:16: Let Your Light Shine , location = , Inner West Sydney , state = New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , other_na ...

. As an adult, he began his first-class career with Eastwood RFC in the

Shute Shield The Shute Shield is a semi-professional rugby union competition in Sydney, Australia. It is the premier club competition in New South Wales. The Shute Shield is awarded to the winning team from the Sydney premiership grand final held at the end ...

competition. As of 2022, he has been capped 5 times and has scored one try. With his similarities in height, position, body type, and playing style, Nawaqanitawase has been likened to former Waratahs fullback and dual Australia –

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

representative

Israel Folau Israel Folau ( to, ‘Isileli Folau; born 3 April 1989) is an Australian professional rugby union footballer who plays for the Shining Arcs in the Japan Rugby League One and the Tonga national rugby union team. He has previously played Aust ...

NSW Country

= 2018 – 19

= Nawaqanitawase began his professional career in 2018, signing with the NSW Country Eagles in the

National Rugby Championship The National Rugby Championship, known as NRC, was an Australian rugby union competition. It was contested by eight teams, seven from Australia and one from Fiji. The tournament ran from 2014 until 2019 before being disbanded in 2020 following t ...

. He scored his first professional try in a 24-24 draw against the

Fijian Drua The Fijian Drua (currently known as the Swire Shipping Fijian Drua for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby union team based in Fiji that competes in the Super Rugby. The team was created by the Fiji Rugby Union and launched in Augus ...

on the 14th of September 2019. He scored another three tries in a year which saw the Eagles win the Horan-Little Shield for the first time since 2016. Following the 2019 season, the NRC competition was disbanded including franchises.

NSW Waratahs

= 2020 – 22

= Nawaqanitawase signed to the Waratahs squad for the 2020 season. He made his Super Rugby debut against the

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on the 1st of February 2020, scoring two tries in a 42–23 loss. He scored another try the following week against the Blues. Nawaqanitawase finished his debut season having played 9 matches and scoring 4 tries. In 2021, despite a disappointing year for the club, Nawaqanitawase extended his contract with the Waratahs until the end of the 2023 season. Nawaqanitawase had a breakout 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season, starting in 10 of his 12 matches, scoring seven tries and playing a total of 842' in a year which saw the Waratahs finish 6th on the ladder and reach the Quarter-finals.

International rugby

Australia U20

Nawaqanitawase was a part of the U20 side that won their first title of the 2019 Oceania Rugby U20 Championship. Nawaqanitawase played twice and scored twice, with both tries being scored against Japan U20. In the 2019 World Rugby U20 Championship, Nawaqanitawase played all five of the

Junior Wallabies The Junior Wallabies is the national under-20 team that represents Australia playing rugby union. The team has been competing at the annual World Rugby U20 Championship since it began in 2008, replacing the previously held under-19 and under-2 ...

' matches, including the final against

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in which he scored the second-fastest try in a World Rugby U20 Championship final. Unfortunately, the Junior Wallabies lost by one point: 23–24.

Australia A

In 2022, following an incredibly successful year with the Waratahs, Nawaqanitawase was named in the Australia A squad for the

Pacific Nations Cup The Pacific Nations Cup is an international rugby union competition held between three Pacific states: Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. The 2019 edition of the tournament will also include the national teams of Canada, Japan and United States. First hel ...

. Australia A finished runner–up in the tournament. Nawaqanitawase was again named in the Australia A squad for the three-match series against Japan. He played in two matches and scored two tries in the series win.

Australia

In 2022, following a successful campaign with both Australia A and the Waratahs, Nawaqanitawase was named in the

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

squad for the 2022 Autumn internationals series. On the 13th of November, 2022, Nawaqanitawase was named in the number 14 jersey in his debut match against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

which the Wallabies lost 28 to 27. On the 27th of November 2022, Nawaganitawase scored two tries against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

helping leading the Wallabies to a 39 to 34 win.

References

External links

*
Rugby.com.au profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nawaqanitawase, Mark 2000 births Living people Australian people of Fijian descent Australian rugby union players Rugby union wings New South Wales Waratahs players Rugby union fullbacks New South Wales Country Eagles players Rugby union players from Sydney 21st-century Australian people Commonwealth Games competitors for Australia Rugby sevens players at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Australia international rugby union players