Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (born 5 June 1993) is a 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 it ...

player, and former

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 ...

footballer. He plays for the Auckland Blues in the Super Rugby Pacific, and for the New Zealand national team. He made his debut against Ireland on 16th July, 2022. Tuivasa-Sheck is a dual-code international who previously played

as a and captain for the

New Zealand Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...

in the NRL. In 2018 Tuivasa-Sheck became the first Warriors player to win the

Dally M Medal The Dally M Medal is awarded each year (annually) to the player voted for as the ' Player of the year' over the National Rugby League (NRL) regular season. The awards are named in honour of Australian former rugby league great Herbert Henry "Da ...

. He also played for the

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won fifteen Ne ...

in the

National Rugby League 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 ...

, with whom he won a premiership in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, playing on the wing.

Background

Tuivasa-Sheck was born in

Apia Apia () is the capital and largest city of Samoa, as well as the nation's only city. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō'') of Tuamasaga. ...

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

. He attended

Otahuhu College Otahuhu College is a secondary school in Auckland, New Zealand for students years 9 to 13. Location It is located in the suburb of Otahuhu and is a co-educational school. The main campus entrance is on Mangere Road, the Memorial Field sports ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

, where he played both

and

. Tuivasa-Sheck represented the New Zealand rugby union schoolboy team and captained Otahuhu College at the

New Zealand Rugby League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood '' ...

's Secondary Schools tournament in 2011 before being signed by the Sydney Roosters in October of that year. Tuivasa-Sheck is the older brother of Johnny Tuivasa-Sheck who played for the Roosters premiership-winning Under 20s & reserve grade sides before joining Roger at the Warriors & turning out for the NZ club's reserve grade side.

Playing career

2012

Tuivasa-Sheck played for the Roosters'

NYC New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

team in 2012 and scored 9 tries in 12 games before moving on to their

New South Wales Cup The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserv ...

reserve-grade team. ROGER TUIVASA-SHECK Newtown Jets

In round 21 of the

2012 NRL season The 2012 NRL season was the 105th season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia, and the first run by the newly formed Australian Rugby League Commission. The main competition, called the 2012 NRL Telstra Premiership due to spon ...

, Tuivasa-Sheck made his NRL debut on the wing in the Roosters' 36-16 loss against the

Gold Coast Titans The Gold Coast Titans are a professional rugby league football club, based on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australia and New Zealand's national rugby league club competition. The ...

at the SFS. Tuivasa-Sheck finished his debut year with 6 matches. He was named at wing in the 2012 Toyota Cup Team of the Year. In September, Tuivasa-Sheck was featured in an article listing the top ten upcoming talents of the NRL. On 2 October, Tuivasa-Sheck was named in the

Junior Kiwis The Junior Kiwis side represents New Zealand in the sport of rugby league. They are commonly known as the Junior Kiwis, after the native bird of that name. Since 2010, they are an under-20s side, with players selected from the NRL, Intrust Super ...

team to face the

Junior Kangaroos The Junior Kangaroos side represents Australia in the sport of rugby league. They are commonly known as the Junior Kangaroos, after the native marsupial of that name. Since 2019, they are an under-23 side, with players selected from the NRL. The ...

. He was named the New Zealand Rugby League's 2012 Junior of the Year. On 21 December, Tuivasa-Sheck extended his contract for a further three years, keeping him at the Roosters till the end of the 2015 season.

2013

In round 4, against

Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and their ...

at the SFS, Tuivasa-Sheck scored his first tries in first grade completing a hat-trick in the Roosters' 50-0 win. On 1 October, he was named Winger of the Year at the

Dally M Awards The Dally M Awards are the official annual player awards for the National Rugby League competition. As well as honouring the player of the year, who received the Dally M Medal, awards are also given to the premier player in each position, the b ...

. On 6 October 2013, Tuivasa-Sheck was part of the team that beat the

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...

26-18 for the 2013 NRL Premiership. Tuivasa-Sheck played in 25 matches and scored 9 tries for the Roosters in the

Playing for the Kiwis in the

2013 Rugby League World Cup The 2013 Rugby League World Cup was the fourteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup and took place in England, Wales, France and Ireland. between 26 October and 30 November 2013. It was the main event of the year's Festival of World ...

, Tuivasa-Sheck made his international debut against

in the 42-24 win at

Halliwell Jones Stadium The Halliwell Jones Stadium is a rugby league stadium in Warrington, England, which is the home ground of the Warrington Wolves. It has also staged Challenge Cup semi-finals, the European Nations Final, the National League Grand Finals' Day, ...

. In the final, against Australia, he injured his leg early in the match and the Kiwis lost 2-34 at Old Trafford. Tuivasa-Sheck played 6 matches and scored 8 tries in the tournament.

2014

Tuivasa-Sheck played on the wing for New Zealand in the

2014 Anzac Test The 2014 Anzac Test was a rugby league test match played between Australia and New Zealand at Allianz Stadium in Sydney on 2 May 2014. It was the 15th Anzac Test played between the two nations since the first was played under the Super League ...

, with the Kiwis losing 30-18. He finished the Roosters'

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...

with 7 tries from 26 matches.

2015

In the pre-season, Tuivasa-Sheck played for the Roosters in the Auckland Nines. On 8 April, he signed a 3-year contract with the New Zealand Warriors starting in 2016, replacing the departing

Sam Tomkins Sam Tomkins (born 23 March 1989) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and occasional for the Catalans Dragons in the Betfred Super League and England at international level. He is the two time and current and r ...

. On 3 May, he played for the Kiwis at fullback in their historic 2015 Anzac Test victory over Australia. It was only the Kiwis' second win in the 15 editions of the annual test-match since its introduction in 1997. During the season, Tuivasa-Sheck ran a combined 5767 metres. On 29 September, he was named the 2015 Dally M Fullback of the Year, finishing his last year with the Roosters having played in all of their 27 matches and scoring 12 tries. He returned to the Kiwis side at the end of the year to play in their tour of Great Britain. He played in all 3 matches and scored 1 try against England in the Kiwis' 2-1

Baskerville Shield The Baskerville Shield is a trophy awarded to the winner of rugby league test series between England and New Zealand. It named in honour of Albert Henry Baskerville, who organised the first ever tour by New Zealand of Great Britain in 1907. Th ...

series loss.

2016

In February, Tuivasa-Sheck played for the Warriors in the Auckland Nines. In Round 1 of the

, he made his club debut for the Warriors against the

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a joint-venture ...

, playing at fullback in the Warriors' 26-34 loss at

Campbelltown Stadium Campbelltown Stadium, formerly Orana Park and Campbelltown Sports Ground, is a multi-use stadium in Leumeah, New South Wales, Australia, owned by Campbelltown City Council. It is the home ground of the Western Suburbs Magpies and the Wests Ti ...

. In round five, in his first game against his old club the Roosters, he combined with

Tuimoala Lolohea Tuimoala Lolohea (born 23 January 1995) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a or for the Huddersfield Giants in the Betfred Super League. He has played for both New Zealand and Tonga at international level. Lolohea previou ...

to score the match-winning try that gave the Warriors a 32-28 victory in

golden point The golden point, a sudden death overtime system, is used to resolve drawn football matches. The term is borrowed from soccer's now-defunct golden goal. Rugby league Australia The golden point is used to determine a winner (where applicable, see ...

. In Round 7 against the

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilit ...

, he suffered a season ending

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint and th ...

(ACL) knee injury. This meant he finished the 2016 season having played in 7 matches and scoring 1 try for the Warriors.

2017

On 1 February, new coach Stephen Kearney named Tuivasa-Sheck as the Warriors new captain.

2018

On the 26th of September, Tuivasa-Sheck was named “Fullback of The Year” and the “Dally M” Medalist of the Year at the 2018 “Dally M Awards”. He became the first New Zealand Warriors player to receive this honour. Tuivasa-Sheck finished the season scoring just 3 tries and playing in 23 games for the Warriors.

2019

Tuivasa-Sheck made 23 appearances scoring 7 tries 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 New Zealand finished a disappointing 13th and missed out on the finals.

2020

In round 16 of 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-seaso ...

, he scored two tries in a 36-6 victory over Newcastle at Scully Park in Tamworth. He made a total of 18 appearances for New Zealand in the

as the club missed out on the finals.

2021

On 30 January, it was announced that he would be leaving the

and the

itself, at the end of the 2021 season, to sign a contract with the

New Zealand Rugby Union New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it became an affiliate to t ...

in a bid to accomplish his dream to play for 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, ...

(New Zealand National Rugby Team). On 6 February, Tuivasa-Sheck signed a two-year contract with the Blues from the 2022 season, and will also play for

in the

Mitre 10 Cup The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in t ...

. On 26 July, it was announced that Tuivasa-Sheck would leave the club immediately to go home to New Zealand before the Trans-Tasman travel bubble was closed.

2022

Tuivasa-Sheck started for the Blues in February that year, against the Hurricanes. He was named in the

squad for their test series against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and debuted on 16 July 2022 at

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

Personal life

In May 2015, Tuivasa-Sheck was first to the scene where a car crashed into a house near his home in the Sydney suburb of

Botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

. He rescued a man from the car, and stayed with the occupants of the house in question until medical services were able to arrive.

References

External links

*
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck , Rugby Database Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tuivasa-Sheck, Roger 1993 births New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand people of Samoan descent New Zealand national rugby league team players Sydney Roosters players New Zealand Warriors players New Zealand Warriors captains Newtown Jets NSW Cup players Junior Kiwis players Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league wingers People educated at Otahuhu College Sportspeople from Apia Living people New Zealand rugby union players Rugby union centres Rugby union wings Auckland rugby union players Blues (Super Rugby) players New Zealand international rugby union players