Chris Masoe (born 15 May 1979 in Savaii,

Western 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); ...

) is a former

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 ...

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 ...

footballer, who last played for Racing Metro 92 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 French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

and a current professional boxer. He is the brother of boxer Maselino Masoe. He was born on the island of Savai'i

Career

Early life

Masoe was born in Savai'i,

as the second youngest of 13 children. He emigrated to

aged 8 and was raised in

Wanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whang ...

Super 14

Masoe used to play for the

Wellington Hurricanes The Hurricanes ( ; formerly the Wellington Hurricanes) is a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Wellington that competes in Super Rugby. The Hurricanes were formed to represent the lower North Island, including the East Coast, H ...

in the Super 14. He appeared in all 11 Hurricanes matches in the 2005 season. He is capable of playing in all three loose-forward positions but has been concentrating on the openside flanker's role. Masoe has good pace and is a strong ball runner and a tough defender.

Sevens

He has been a regular member of the New Zealand Sevens squad in the past and was a member of the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...

gold-winning team.

Handbag incident

On the night of the Super 14 final on 27 May 2006, former All Black captain

Tana Umaga Jonathan Ionatana Falefasa Umaga (; ; born 27 May 1973) is a New Zealand former rugby union footballer and former captain of the national team, the All Blacks. Since 2016 he has been coach of the Blues in the Super Rugby competition. He play ...

struck

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

team mate Chris Masoe over the head with a woman's handbag, breaking her cell phone, after Masoe allegedly attempted to strike another patron. Masoe was fined $3000 by the NZRU as punishment.

Castres Olympique

In 2008, he signed a contract for French

team Castres Olympique. In 2010, he was selected in the

French Barbarians The Barbarian Rugby Club, more commonly known as the French Barbarians, is a rugby union team formed in 1979 and based in France. It was founded as an amateur invitational team modeled on the Barbarian F.C. From the start of the 2017–18 season, ...

squad to play

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 ...

on 26 November.

Toulon

In April 2012 it was confirmed Masoe was joining

RC Toulonnais Rugby Club Toulonnais (), also known as RCT but usually Toulon; oc, Rugbi Club Tolonenc) is a French professional rugby union club based in Toulon in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. A current participant in the first-tier Top 14 competition, they ...

on a three-year deal. In May 2013 he started as

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

won the

2013 Heineken Cup Final The 2013 Heineken Cup Final was the final match of the 2012–13 Heineken Cup, the 18th season of Europe's top club rugby union competition. The match was played on 18 May 2013 in the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, kicking off at 5 pm ( ...

by 16–15 against Clermont Auvergne.

Awards

His allround ability earned him the Taranaki Sportsman of the Year in 2002 and in the same year he was named New Zealand Sevens Player of the Year. Following his last season at Castres Olympique, he received the 2011–2012 Top 14 rugbyman of the year award on 15 October 2012.

Honours

Racing 92 Racing 92 () is a French rugby union club based in suburban Paris that was formed in 2001 with the collaboration of the Racing Club de France and US Métro. They were called Racing Métro 92 between 2001 and 2015, when they changed the name ...

: 2015–16

Professional Boxing Career

On December 2nd 2022, Masoe followed in his brothers footsteps and made his professional boxing debut against Hawaian born Lui Te'o. Masoe won the fight by Split Decision.

Professional Boxing Record

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Masoe, Chris 1979 births New Zealand international rugby union players Living people New Zealand rugby union players Rugby union flankers Rugby union number eights Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand Rugby sevens players at the 2002 Commonwealth Games New Zealand male rugby sevens players Samoan emigrants to New Zealand Expatriate rugby union players in France Hurricanes (rugby union) players Taranaki rugby union players Wellington rugby union players Castres Olympique players RC Toulonnais players New Zealand expatriate rugby union players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in France New Zealand international rugby sevens players Commonwealth Games rugby sevens players of New Zealand Commonwealth Games medallists in rugby sevens