Jason Qareqare

Jason Qareqare (; born 26 January 2004) is a Fijian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er or for the Castleford Tigers in the Super League.

He has previously played for the Midlands Hurricanes in League 1 and the Bradford Bulls in the Championship on dual registration and loan from Castleford.

Background

Qareqare was born in Lautoka, Fiji. As the son of a British Army soldier, he lived in Osnabrück, Germany for four years before his family relocated to Yorkshire in 2008.

Growing up, he previously played football with York City and rugby union with Ripon RUFC and school teams. He was inspired to take up rugby league by Fiji's run to the 2013 Rugby League World Cup semi-finals as well as due to the sport's popularity in the area.

Qareqare attended Sherburn High School. He played his junior rugby league for the Kippax Knights before signing for the Castleford Tigers academy aged 14. He joined Queen Ethelburga's Collegiate on a rugby union scholarship, where he studied Maths, Sport and Business, while training part-time with Castleford.

Club career

Castleford Tigers

On 10 June 2021, Qareqare was given a late call up into the Castleford Tigers side to face Hull FC in the Super League, having been expected to play for the under-19s that weekend. He received a phone call from head coach Daryl Powell while in maths class at school, and started on the left wing to make his Super League debut for Castleford. Inside the first minute, he rounded fullback Jake Connor to score a try with his first touch of the ball. This was nominated for Super League Try of the Month, and was later voted Castleford's Try of the Year despite strong competition. He went on to make 2 further appearances in 2021, featuring off the bench against Wakefield and starting at fullback in a youthful side against Salford.

Qareqare signed a two-year contract extension with Castleford in April 2022. In his first start of the 2022 season on 22 April, he once again scored a long-range try in the first minute with his first touch of the ball, beating four St Helens defenders on the touchline. This score went on to be voted Super League Try of the Month, and in December was voted Super League Try of the Season. On 15 May, he scored two tries in Castleford's victory over Hull Kingston Rovers. The following week, Qareqare scored his second consecutive brace against Salford, with his "pace and skill in tight situations evidenced by his sublime finishes". He finished the season with 7 tries in 8 appearances.

For the 2023 season, Qareqare switched from squad number 33 to 31. At the 2023 Magic Weekend, he scored the late winning try for Castleford in their 26-24 victory against the Leeds Rhinos. He scored again in the two following rounds against Salford and Warrington. In round 25, Qareqare scored two tries for Castleford in their 29-12 victory over Hull FC. The second of these, a length-of-the-field interception from a Hull scrum play, went on to be voted Castleford's Try of the Season.

In 2024, Qareqare started in the opening rounds but suffered an ankle injury on 25 February, expected to keep him out for two months. On 17 May, Castleford announced that Qareqare had signed a further two-year contract extension. On his return from injury against Hull on 24 May, he scored a try and assisted another for Tex Hoy. He scored two tries against Salford in round 19 and repeated this feat against Huddersfield in round 22. Qareqare was rested for one game in August as a precautionary measure for a tight hamstring, but otherwise featured in every round from May, making 17 appearances.

Whitehaven (loan)

On 22 July 2022, Qareqare joined Whitehaven in the Championship on loan, alongside teammate Cain Robb. However, the following week, they were both recalled to Castleford without having made an appearance, as the Tigers were unable to name a full 21-man squad due to mounting injury issues.

Midlands Hurricanes (dual registration)

Qareqare made 2 appearances for the Midlands Hurricanes in the RFL League 1 in 2023, through their dual registration agreement with Castleford.

Bradford Bulls (loan)

On 20 April 2023, it was announced that Qareqare had joined the Bradford Bulls in the Championship on an initial 2-week loan deal, continuing on a rolling basis. Tigers head coach Andy Last explained the move; "Jason is a player with huge potential and we want to create a pathway for him. Jason needs to work on some aspects of his game and getting some consistent rugby at Bradford will stretch him a little bit more than the reserves." In June, having made 2 appearances, he was recalled to Castleford.

Representative career

Qareqare represented Yorkshire in their Academy Origin victory against Lancashire on 4 August 2021. He played as a er and scored the opening try of the game in the second minute. He was named in the Yorkshire squad for the first match of the 2022 Academy Origin series, but did not take part due to Super League commitments.

In May 2022, Qareqare was named in Fiji's initial 50-man squad in the build up towards the 2021 Rugby League World Cup. In September 2022, he was included in the extended 33-man training squad. On 7 October 2022, Qareqare played on the for Fiji against England in their warm-up game at the AJ Bell Stadium, although missed out on a final selection in Fiji's 24-man tournament squad.

On 6 October 2023, Qareqare was named in Fiji's 20-man squad for the 2023 Pacific Championships. He started in the second match on 29 October, scoring a try in Fiji's 43-16 win over . He featured in the Pacific Bowl final on 5 November where Fiji lost 12-32 against Papua New Guinea.

Statistics

References

External links

Castleford Tigers profileSL profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qareqare, Jason
2004 births
Living people
Bradford Bulls players
Castleford Tigers players
Coventry Bears players
English people of I-Taukei Fijian descent
Fiji national rugby league team players
Fijian rugby league players
Rugby league players from Lautoka
Rugby league wingers
Whitehaven R.L.F.C. players
21st-century Fijian sportsmen