Denny Solomona (born 27 September 1993) is a former professional

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union or rugby league. Rugby football started at Rugby School in Rugby, Warwickshire, England, where the rules were first codified in 1845. Forms of football in which the ball ...

er who played

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 ...

as a winger for

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at international level. He previously played rugby union for

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England, United Kingdom. Its team play in Premiership Rugby, and have been in England's top division of rugby union continuously since 1995. Originally founded in 1861 as ...

Premiership Rugby Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition, consisting of 10 clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby ...

and played

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 ...

as a winger for the

Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm is a rugby league football club based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia that participates in the National Rugby League (NRL). The club plays its home games at AAMI Park, and wears a purple and navy blu ...

Under-20s,

London Broncos The London Broncos are a professional rugby league club based in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, England. They play their home games at Plough Lane and currently compete in the RFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of British rugby le ...

and the

Castleford Tigers The Castleford Tigers are a professional rugby league club in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England. They play their home games at Wheldon Road (currently known as the Mend-A-Hose Jungle for sponsorship reasons) and compete in the Super League, t ...

. He played 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 ...

at international rugby league.

Youth

Solomona was born and brought up in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, and was educated first at Ōtāhuhu College then at St Peter's College where he was a member of the school's Rugby Union First XV and won the Boris Shroj Cup in 2010 as the top try scorer.

Rugby League

In 2012, Solomona became a member of the

Rugby League franchise being recruited out of Melbourne's youth system. He only played 13 games during the 2012 National Youth Competition season, with a fractured

fibula The fibula (: fibulae or fibulas) or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. ...

in Round 13. Nevertheless, the 19-year-old scored eight tries from those 13 games. Solomona joined the Melbourne Storm's senior squad in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

. Solomona signed for

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

side

in January 2014 after being released from his contract with

. Following the club's relegation, it was announced that he would join

at the end of the season. In 2016, Solomona scored a record-breaking 37th try in a single

season in Castleford's Super 8s win over Catalans. The try broke a 12-year record held by former dual-international,

Lesley Vainikolo Lesley Paea 'I'muli Vainikolo (born 4 May 1979) is a former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer. A dual code international, he has played for the New Zealand Kiwis in rugby league and England in rugby union. He began his care ...

. Solomona finished the season with a total of 40 tries along with another 2 in the

Challenge Cup The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...

competition. On 8 October 2016 Solomona made his International début for

in their historical test match against Fiji in Apia.

Rugby Union

On 13 December 2016, it was confirmed that Solomona had retired from rugby league, with two years still remaining on his contract with

, to switch to

, and join

in the

Aviva Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition, consisting of 10 clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby u ...

. The move was subject to a legal dispute which was concluded out of court as Sale paid Castleford some £200,000 in compensation. On 29 March 2017, having enjoyed a prolific start to his career with Sale (10 tries in 11 appearances), Solomona declared himself available for international selection with

. He was subsequently called up to the senior England squad by Eddie Jones for their 2017 summer tour of Argentina and came on as a sub in the opening test and scored the winning try on his debut.l

International tries

Influences

Solomona feels that meeting senior players can be important for the motivation and development of school age players.

Post-playing Career

Solomona left North Harbour Rugby and returned to Wigan in 2023 where he commenced his plumbing apprenticeship. Solomona is the owner of Pasifika Plumbing and Heating

References

External links

*
Sale Sharks Profile2015 Castleford Tigers Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Solomona, Denny 1993 births Living people 21st-century New Zealand sportsmen Castleford Tigers players Dual-code rugby internationals England international rugby union players English rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in England Highlanders (rugby union) players London Broncos players London Skolars players New Zealand expatriate rugby league players in England New Zealand expatriate rugby union players New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent North Harbour rugby union players People educated at St Peter's College, Auckland Rugby league players from Auckland Rugby league wingers Rugby union players from Auckland Rugby union wings Sale Sharks players Samoa national rugby league team players Samoan rugby league players