Kirisome Auva'A

Club

_Retired Rugby

Position

Winger

Nationality

Samoa

Date of birth

1992-02-23

Birthplace

Motootua, Western Samoa

Height

186 cm (6 ft 1 in)

Weight

100 kg (15 st 10 lb)

Kirisome Auva'a (born 23 February 1992), also known by the nickname of "Somi", is a Samoan former professional rugby league footballer who last played as a centre and winger for the Parramatta Eels in the NRL. A Samoa international representative, he won the 2014 NRL Premiership with the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

In January 2014 he violently attacked an ex-girlfriend. Pleading guilty, he was given a two-year good behaviour bond. The NRL suspended him for nine months and put him on a counselling programme for various issues.

On the 30th of August 2018, Kirisome Auva’a announced his retirement from the National Rugby League due to ongoing back issues.

Background
Born in Motootua, Samoa, Auva'a moved to New Zealand and played his junior football for the Otahuhu Rovers. Auva'a then moved to Australia as a teenager and attended Ipswich Grammar School in Queensland and played rugby league for the Norths Ipswich Tigers. He represented the Australian A Schoolboys rugby union side.

Auva'a was signed by the Melbourne Storm, playing in their Under-20s team from 2010 to 2012 before joining the Storm's first grade squad. While playing for Melbourne's NYC side, Auva'a represented Queensland Under 18's in 2010, making him eligible for the senior Queensland Origin team, and was the 18th man for Queensland in the inaugural Under 20's Origin game in 2012.

In 2013, Auva'a played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in their 2013 New South Wales Cup Grand Final victory over the Windsor Wolves. Auva'a is the cousin of fellow South Sydney Rabbitohs teammate Hymel Hunt.