Samuela "Sam" Moa (born 14 August 1986) is a former professional
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 112 ...
footballer who played as a , most recently for the
FC Lézignan XIII
Football Club de Lézignan (often referred to as the Lézignan Sangliers) are a semi-professional rugby league, rugby league football club based in Lézignan-Corbières in the Departments of France, départment of Aude in the south of France. The ...
in the French
Elite One Championship
Elite 1 is the top level rugby league competition in France, sanctioned by the French Rugby League Federation. The season runs from September to April, which is in contrast to the majority of other major domestic rugby league competitions worl ...
. He is both
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 ...
and
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
international.
Moa has previously played for the
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugby league ...
and the
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, 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 ...
, with whom he won the
2013 Telstra Premiership 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
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 ...
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
Moa was born in Tonga and raised in New Zealand.
Playing career
Wests Tigers
Moa started his career at
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 ...
side
Wests Tigers
The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional Rugby league, 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 j ...
.
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
He then signed with the
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugby league ...
in 2008 and playing in one
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 ...
match.
Hull FC
He was signed by
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 ...
in January 2009 and arrived a week before the club's fixture with
Huddersfield Giants
Huddersfield Giants are an English professional rugby league club from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, the birthplace of rugby league, who play in the Super League competition. They play their home games at the John Smiths Stadium which is sh ...
which he featured off the bench in his debut. Moa is good friends with former
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 ...
and
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 ...
teammate
Willie Manu
Viliami Makamaile "Willie" Manu (born 20 March 1980) is a former Tonga international rugby league footballer. He played as a second-row forward, he previously played in the National Rugby League for Australian clubs the Wests Tigers, South Syd ...
and former
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 ...
and
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 ...
teammate
Epalahame Lauaki
Epalahame Lauaki (born 27 January 1984) is a Tongan former professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Bradford Bulls in the Championship.
Background
Lauaki was born in Ha'apai, Tonga.
He is the brother of former All Black ...
(now at Bradford Bulls). The trio were commonly known by the Hull fans as 'The Tongan Mafia'.
Sydney Roosters
Sam signed for the
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, 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 ...
for the
2013 NRL season
The 2013 NRL season was the 106th season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia. The National Rugby League's main competition, named the 2013 Telstra Premiership after major sponsors Telstra Corporation, was contested by sixte ...
, winning the premiership with them at the end of the season. Many observed that Moa's performance in the grand final was particularly memorable, flattening Manly's
Glenn Stewart
Glenn Stewart (born 11 January 1984) is a former Australian professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Leigh Centurions in the Super League. An Australia international and New South Wales State of Origin representative , ...
with an aggressive kick-off return in the 1st minute.
Catalans Dragons
Moa joined the French side ahead of the
2017 Super League season
The 2017 Super League season, known as the Betfred Super League XXII for sponsorship reasons, was the 22nd season of the Super League and 123rd season of rugby league in Britain. Twelve teams competed over 23 rounds, including the Magic Weekend, ...
.
He played in the
2018 Challenge Cup Final
The 2018 Challenge Cup Final was the 117th cup-deciding game of the rugby league 2018 Challenge Cup Season. It was held at Wembley Stadium in London on 25 August 2018, kick off 15:00. The final was contested by Catalans Dragons and Warrington W ...
victory over the
Warrington Wolves
The Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England, that competes in the Super League. They play rugby at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2004.
Founded as Warrington Z ...
at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
.
![SAM MOA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/SAM_MOA.jpg)
On 2 December 2020 it was reported that Moa would leave the club at the end of the 2020 season
FC Lézignan XIII
On 11 December 2020 it was reported that Moa had signed for
FC Lézignan XIII
Football Club de Lézignan (often referred to as the Lézignan Sangliers) are a semi-professional rugby league, rugby league football club based in Lézignan-Corbières in the Departments of France, départment of Aude in the south of France. The ...
Coaching career
In November 2021,
Catalans Dragons
The Catalans Dragons ( French: ''Dragons Catalans'', Catalan: ''Dracs Catalans'') are a professional rugby league club from Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales department, France. The team competes in the Super League and are the only team from ...
appointed Sam Moa as
assistant coach
A sports coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction and training of a sports team or athlete.
History
The original sense of the word ''coach'' is that of a Coach (carriage), horse-drawn carriage, deriving ultima ...
to
Steve McNamara
Steve McNamara (born 18 September 1971) is an English professional rugby league football coach who is the head coach of the Catalans Dragons in the Betfred Super League and a former professional player. He is a former coach of England, and a Gr ...
. He returned to the club one year after having left the club and retired from playing professional rugby.
International career
Tonga
Moa first played for
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 ...
in 2006 as part of the
2008 World Cup qualifying series.
Moa was subsequently picked in the
2008 World Cup squad and went on to feature in all three of Tonga's matches at the tournament.
New Zealand
He declared himself eligible for selection for New Zealand at the next world cup citing his desire to be part of a world cup winning squad. Despite playing for Tonga against
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 Island, Manono an ...
in the
Pacific Rugby League International
The Pacific Rugby League International is a rugby league test match that has been played between two Pacific Island nations during the National Rugby League's annual representative weekend since 2013. The fixture was held at Penrith Stadium for ...
in April 2013, he played for
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
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 2013 Festival of World ...
.
References
External links
Catalans Dragons profile*
SL profile2017 RLWC profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moa, Samuela
1986 births
Living people
Balmain Ryde-Eastwood Tigers players
Catalans Dragons players
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks players
Hull F.C. players
Lézignan Sangliers players
New Zealand national rugby league team players
New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England
New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Australia
New Zealand sportspeople of Tongan descent
New Zealand rugby league players
People educated at Keebra Park State High School
Rugby league props
Sydney Roosters players
Tonga national rugby league team players
Tongan rugby league players