Curtis Rona (born 26 May 1992) is a former Australian international

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

footballer who recently played for

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...

in the

English Premiership The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

. He now plays for Mitsubishi Heavy Industry Sagamihara Dynaboars. He has previously played for the

Western Force The Western Force is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Perth, Western Australia, currently competing in Super Rugby Pacific. They previously played in Super Rugby from 2006 until they were axed from the competition in 2017. F ...

and

NSW Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby competition. The Riverina and other southern parts of the stat ...

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

, as well as playing

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 ...

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 ...

for the

North Queensland Cowboys The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest town in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL). Sinc ...

and 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 facili ...

in the

Background

Born in Waitara in the

Taranaki Region Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dis ...

of New Zealand, Rona is of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

descent. Rona moved to

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

when he was eight. In Perth, Rona attended

Aranmore Catholic College The Aranmore Catholic College is a co-educational school for ages 7-12, located in Leederville in Perth, Western Australia. History The College was founded in 1903 by the Sisters of Mercy and was originally known as Arranmore, a name ta ...

, where he played for their rugby union team and represented

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

at the Under 15, Under 16 and Schoolboy level. Rona played junior rugby league for the

Joondalup Giants The Joondalup Giants Rugby League Club is an Australian rugby league football club based in Joondalup, Western Australia that competes in The Western Australian Rugby League. Founded in 1990, The Joondalup Giants provide the northern suburbs of P ...

in the Perth Rugby League competition. He also played rugby union for the Wanneroo Districts juniors and was a member of the

academy. In 2009, Rona made the full-time switch to rugby league and was a member of the

Western Reds The Western Reds were a rugby league football club based in Perth, Western Australia. Founded in 1992 as the Western Reds, they entered into the Australian Rugby League competition in 1995 before defecting to the rival Super League competition i ...

SG Ball team and represented the Western Australia Under-18s team. Later that year, Rona signed a three-year deal with 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 ...

. From 2010 to 2012, Rona played for the Roosters Holden Cup (Under-20s) team playing 39 matches and scoring 23 tries. On 21 July 2012, Rona signed a two-year deal with the

. Later that year, Rona represented 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 Sup ...

. In 2013, Rona joined the Cowboys first grade squad spending the 2013 season playing for the Cowboys feeder team, the

Mackay Cutters The Mackay Cutters are a semi-professional rugby league football club based in Mackay, Queensland. They compete in Queensland's top rugby league competition, the Queensland Cup. The club was admitted to the Queensland Cup in 2007, alongside th ...

, in the

Queensland Cup The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and is contested by fo ...

. On 17 July 2013, Rona represented the

Queensland Residents The Queensland Residents rugby league team is a representative rugby league team consisting of players who compete in the Intrust Super Cup (Queensland Cup) competition. They currently play an annual fixture against NSW Cup Representative Team ...

team.

Playing career

2014

In 2014, Rona was a member of the Cowboys victorious

Auckland Nines The NRL Nines is a rugby league nines competition, normally held during the NRL preseason each year. It was initially held in Auckland, New Zealand, between 2014 and 2017 before going on hiatus. Returning in 2020, hosting duties moved to Perth ...

team, in which he scored two tries in the final against the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...

. In Round 7 of the

2014 NRL season The 2014 NRL season was the 107th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 17th season of the National Rugby League in Australia and New Zealand. The season started in New Zealand, for the Auckland Nines, replacing the Rugby League ...

Rona made his

debut against the

Manly 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 ...

on the wing, scoring a try in the Cowboys 26-21 loss at

Central Coast Stadium Central Coast Stadium (known originally as Grahame Park), known commercially as Industree Group Stadium is a sports venue in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. The stadium is home to the Central Coast Mariners asso ...

. On 20 August 2014, Rona signed a 2-year contract with the

starting in 2015. Rona finished off his debut year in the NRL with him playing in 7 matches and scoring 6 tries for the North Queensland Cowboys in the 2014 NRL season.

2015

On 23 January 2015, Rona was named in the

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.2015 Auckland Nines The 2015 NRL Auckland Nines (known as the Dick Smith NRL Auckland Nines due to sponsorship) was the second NRL Auckland Nines tournament, contested between all sixteen teams of the National Rugby League. The draw was released on 16 September 201 ...

squad. In Round 1 of the

2015 NRL season The 2015 NRL season was the 108th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 18th season of the National Rugby League in Australia and New Zealand. The season started in New Zealand with the annual Auckland Nines, which was followed ...

, Rona made his club debut for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs against the

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the NRL. The team is based west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penri ...

on the wing, scoring a try in the Bulldogs 24-18 loss at

Penrith Stadium Penrith Stadium (known commercially as BlueBet Stadium) is a rugby league and association football stadium located in Penrith, New South Wales, Australia. The 22,500 capacity venue is the home ground for the Penrith Panthers who play in the Na ...

. He finished the 2015 season as the Bulldogs' highest try-scorer with 23 tries in 25 matches. On 24 September, Rona was selected in the

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 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

24-man squad for the

2015 New Zealand rugby league tour of Great Britain The 2015 New Zealand rugby league tour of England was a tour by the New Zealand national rugby league team. The New Zealand national rugby league team played a match against the Leeds Rhinos and competed in a three match test series against England ...

. He was not selected for the first two matches against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, before returning home to see the birth of his daughter.

2016

On 12 August 2016, Curtis Rona agreed to a switch to

to take up a two-year deal with the

in Perth, as the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs opted not to renew his contract. Rona finished his last season with the Bulldogs playing all 25 matches for the club, scoring 11 try. He was named in the New Zealand Māori squad for a match against the

New Zealand Residents The New Zealand Residents (also previously known as New Zealand 'A', New Zealand XIII, the Lion Red Cup XIII and currently known as the Bartercard Premiership Selection) are a New Zealand rugby league football representative side that is selected f ...

on 15 October 2016.

2017

In 2017 Rona played 14 matches for the

, scoring 1 try. On 19 August, he made his international debut for Australia versus 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 198 ...

, starting on the wing and scoring a try in the 34-54 loss. He played two more matches for the Wallabies that year.

2018

Rona was signed by the New South Wales Waratahs in 2018 after the Western Force was removed from the Super Rugby competition.

2019

In 2019 Rona was the Waratahs' highest try scorer, scoring six tries. He signed a contract with the

for the 2019-2020

Premiership Rugby Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

season.

London Irish

Curtis joined Irish in 2019 and in 2020 scored the first try in the

Brentford Community Stadium The Brentford Community Stadium, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Gtech Community Stadium, is a stadium in Brentford, West London that is the home of Premier League club Brentford, with Premiership Rugby club London Irish also tena ...

. He left the club with immediate effect in October 2022 to pursue an opportunity in Japan. It was confirmed that Rona has signed for

Mitsubishi Dynaboars also known as Mitsubishi Juko Sagamihara Rugby Club, are a Japanese rugby union team based in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The owner of this club is Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The club was founded in 1981. It came second in the To ...

in the

Japan Rugby League One Japan Rugby League One (formerly the Top League) is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by absorbing the ...

competition ahead of the 2022-23 season.

Personal life

Curtis married Jacinta in 2015.

References

External links

2016 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rona, Curtis 1992 births Living people Australia international rugby union players Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs players Junior Kiwis players London Irish players Mackay Cutters players New South Wales Waratahs players New Zealand emigrants to Australia New Zealand Māori rugby league players North Queensland Cowboys players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Waitara, New Zealand Rugby league wingers Rugby union players from Waitara, New Zealand Te Āti Awa people Western Force players Perth Spirit players Rugby union players from Perth, Western Australia Rugby union centres Rugby union wings Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars players Australian rugby union players Sydney (NRC team) players