Maurie Fa'asavalu (born 12 January 1980) is a former professional

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

and

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. He has played representative level rugby union (RU) for

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

, and at club level for Taula Apia Rugby Union, Harlequins and

Oyonnax Oyonnax () is the second most populated commune in the Ain department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. Oyonnax lies in a valley of the Jura Mountains in the far north of Ain. It is near the Parc naturel régional du Hau ...

, and representative level rugby league (RL) for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, and at club level for St. Helens. He was selected for the Great Britain national rugby league team squad in 2007, after living in England for 4 years. He returned to rugby union in October 2010, having signed for Harlequins for the 2010–11 English Premiership season. He then transferred to

in France. More recently he has joined West Park St Helens as player/ coach.

Rugby union career

Fa'asavalu played for

at the

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England national rugby union team, England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispu ...

. He was signed by the then St. Helens coach

Ian Millward Ian "Basil" Millward (born 22 August 1960) is an Australian rugby league coach, occasional pundit and former player. Millward is now the assistant coach of St George Illawarra in the National Rugby League (NRL). Millward is the former head co ...

in the winter of 2003 after a series of outstanding performances playing at flanker for Samoa in the

. On his return to rugby union, he also featured in the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup, was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The World Rugby, International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japa ...

. Harlequins managed to lure the

(RL), and Samoan (RU) international back to rugby union. "A player of Maurie's talent and ability will be a great asset to Quins," said Quins' Director of Rugby Conor O'Shea, "I have no doubt that he will be able to make an immediate impact on returning to union. He will bring experience and a new dimension to our options and is exactly the type of person we want at this club." He started for Harlequins in their 2011–12 English Premiership Final victory over

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its home ...

. On 4 April 2014, Maurie signed for French side

who compete in the

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also ...

on a two-year contract. On 4 Oct 2021 it was reported that he had turned out for West Park St Helens in their local derby win over Liverpool St Helens

Rugby league career

Fa'asavalu made his début on 13 March 2004 against

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club play their home games at Headingley Rugby Stadium, AMT Headingley Rugby Stadium and compete in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby lea ...

in a 24 – 14 victory at

Knowsley Road Knowsley Road is a former football stadium in Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside. It was the home ground of St. Helens from 1890 until its closure in 2010. St Helens Town FC played their home fixtures at Knowsley Road from 2002 until 2010. For ...

. Fa'asavalu took some time to adjust to

, but developed into an important part of the St. Helens squad in 2006. He was however used primarily as an impact player, starting most games from the interchange bench. Fas'asavalu was unlucky not to receive the Lance Todd Trophy for his performance in the

2006 Challenge Cup The 2006 Challenge Cup (also known as the Powergen Challenge Cup due to sponsorship from Powergen) was the 105th tournament played for rugby league's Challenge Cup. It features teams from across Europe including England, Scotland, Wales, Franc ...

Final victory, where he scored a try in the 2006 and his performance against

Huddersfield Giants The Huddersfield Giants are an English professional rugby league club from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. Huddersfield play their home games at the John Smiths Stadium and compete in Super League, the top tier of British rugby league sy ...

earned widespread praise. St. Helens fans were treated to Fa'asavalu's victory dance in both the

Final and the Grand Final for 2006's

Super League XI Engage Super League XI was the official name for the year 2006's Super League season in the sport of rugby league in Europe. Bradford Bulls were looking to retain the title they won in Super League X. The competition kicked off the weekend after ...

. His block busting runs and inimitable

try celebration In rugby football, a try celebration is the practice of celebrating the scoring of a try. The celebration may be performed by the tryscorer (most notably), his or her teammates, the manager or coaching staff and/or the supporters of the team. Wh ...

s saw him develop a real following on the terraces at Knowsley Road. In total he scored 10 tries in 28 games during the 2006 season. St Helens reached the 2006 Super League Grand final to be contested against

Hull FC Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Hull play their home games at the MKM Stadium and compete in Super League, the t ...

, and Fa'asavalu played from the interchange bench in Saints' 26–4 victory. This was followed by 9 tries in 30 games in the 2007 season. He played in 2007's Super League XIII Grand Final, 2008's Super League XIII Grand Final, and 2009's Super League XIV Grand Final defeats all against the

. On 27 October 2007, Fa'asavalu scored on his début for Great Britain against New Zealand in Huddersfield, helping the British team to a 20–14 victory. Five minutes after he came on as a substitute in the 18th minute, Fa'asavalu used his great stature to break through 3 New Zealand players to score the try. Fa'asavalu was selected for the England squad to compete in the

2008 Rugby League World Cup The 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth World Cup for men’s rugby league national teams. It was held between 26 October and 22 November and was won by New Zealand, who defeated Australia 34–20 in the final in one of the greatest ...

tournament in Australia.

Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived touring cars for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles wer ...

's first match against

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

he played from the interchange bench in England's victory. He played 3 games for the England team in the World Cup, in the process breaking his hand in the defeat against Australia. He played in the 2009 Super League Grand Final defeat by the

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

. He missed a major part of the 2010 season after being injured. His last game for St. Helens was in the home victory over Leeds Rhinos.

References

External links

St Helens profileMaurie Fa'asavalu pictures and profileSaints Heritage Society profileSamoans make switchHuddersfield 12–42 St HelensDave Woods Cup final verdictWorld Cup Select XVScores in GB Debut
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fa'asavalu, Maurie Living people 1980 births 2003 Rugby World Cup players 2011 Rugby World Cup players 2015 Rugby World Cup players England national rugby league team players Great Britain national rugby league team players Harlequin F.C. players New Zealand expatriate rugby league players in England Oyonnax Rugby players People educated at St Paul's College, Auckland Rugby league props Rugby league players from Apia Rugby union players from Apia Rugby union flankers Samoa international rugby union players Samoan emigrants to New Zealand Samoan expatriate rugby union players in England Samoan expatriate rugby union players in France Samoan rugby league players Samoan rugby union players St Helens R.F.C. players