John Schwalger (born 28 September 1983 in

Apia Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō'') of Tuamasaga. The Apia Urban A ...

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 ...

) is a former

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

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 ...

player who played at the

prop A prop, formally known as a (theatrical) property, is an object actors use on stage or screen during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

position.

Early life

Schwalger moved to

after being born in Apia. He is the nephew of

international

Mahonri Schwalger Mase Mahonri Schwalger (born 15 September 1978) is a former Samoan professional rugby union footballer who last played in New Zealand for the Chiefs in the Super Rugby competition and for Counties Manukau in the National Provincial Championshi ...

Career

His representative career started with the

New Zealand Schoolboys The New Zealand Schools rugby union team, commonly referred to as the New Zealand schoolboys rugby team, is composed of secondary school students in New Zealand. In 1980 the New Zealand schoolboys rugby team had their first overseas tour, to Aus ...

team, before being included in New Zealand's Under 21 team in 2004. He won the

Under 21 Rugby World Championship The IRB Under 21 Rugby World Cup was the premier tournament for male rugby union players under the age of 21, organised by the sports governing body the International Rugby Board World Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. ...

with that team in 2004.

Hurricanes and Wellington

In 2005 he was a member of the

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

Super 12 Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...

(now Super Rugby) wider training group. He debuted for

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

in the 2005 against the 2005 touring

British & Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...

, and played for them in that year's

National Provincial Championship The National Provincial Championship may refer to: * National Provincial Championship (1976–2005), original competition before reform into 14 sides * National Provincial Championship (2006–present) The National Provincial Championship (NP ...

. He was selected for the Hurricanes squad for the 2006 Super 14 and eventually forced his way into the starting line-up.

Junior All Blacks

Following his Super 14 form in 2006 he was selected for the

Junior All Blacks The All Blacks XV is the second national rugby union team of New Zealand, after the All Blacks. New Zealand's second national team has had numerous names in its history: Junior All Blacks, New Zealand XV, New Zealand A, New Zealand B, All Blacks ...

, and played for the team as they won the

2006 IRB Pacific 5 Nations The 2006 IRB Pacific 5 Nations was the inaugural IRB Pacific 5 Nations rugby union competition held between five Pacific Rim sides; Fiji national rugby union team, Fiji, Japan national rugby union team, Japan, Samoa national rugby union team, Sa ...

. After another successful

2006 Air New Zealand Cup The 2006 Air New Zealand Cup was the first season of a new structure for the National Provincial Championship (known as the Air New Zealand Cup for sponsorship reasons), contested by teams from New Zealand. The season ran from July to October 20 ...

— where he propped both sides of the

scrum Scrum may refer to: * Autozam Scrum, a microvan and pickup truck sold in Japan by Mazda * Line of scrimmage, line separating football teams before a play * Media scrum, an impromptu press conference, often held immediately outside an event such a ...

, he returned to the Hurricanes for the

2007 Super 14 The 2007 Super 14 season started in February 2007 with preseason matches held from mid-January. It finished on 19 May with the final at Kings Park Stadium in Durban, in the first final between two South African teams in the history of Super Rug ...

All Blacks

Following the 2007 Super 14 he was selected in the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

training squad, and was one of only two non-

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the e ...

players in the squad. His inclusion was the biggest surprise of the squad – as he was picked ahead of capped props

Clarke Dermody Clarke Dermody (born 22 April 1980, in Invercargill) is a former New Zealand rugby union player who has gone on to coach professionally. Dermody was born in Invercargill, New Zealand, and attended Southland Boys' High School. Dermody's great gre ...

and

John Afoa Ioane Fitu "John" Afoa (born 16 September 1983) is a New Zealand professional rugby union player. His position of choice is at prop. Afoa currently plays for the Crusaders in Super Rugby. Personal life Afoa was a student at Auckland's Papakura ...

. Ultimately, he was the final cut from the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup () was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by F ...

squad, as the previously injured

Greg Somerville Greg Mardon Somerville is a New Zealand rugby union player. He is a former All Black and a specialised tighthead prop who can also play loosehead. Somerville made his All Black debut in 2000 against Tonga, a match in which the All Blacks won 102 ...

was declared fit to play and took up the final place in the squad.

Agen

After the 2011 Rugby World Cup, Schwalger agreed to sign a deal with French rugby club

SU Agen Sporting Union Agen Lot-et-Garonne (), commonly referred to as SU Agen, Agen () or SUALG, is a French professional rugby union club based in Agen, Lot-et-Garonne that competes in the Pro D2, France's second division of rugby. Founded in 1908, ...

Return to Hurricanes and Wellington

In May 2013, he signed a two-year deal to rejoin for the

2013 ITM Cup The 2013 ITM Cup season was the eighth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on 15 August, when Counties Manukau (National Provincial Championship), Counties Man ...

and also played for the since the

2013 Super Rugby season The 2013 Super Rugby season was the third season of the new 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition involving teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The tournament was won by the Chiefs, who defeated the Canberra-based Brumbi ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schwalger, John 1983 births Living people New Zealand rugby union players Rugby union props New Zealand international rugby union players Samoan emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand people of German descent Samoan people of German descent Wellington rugby union players Hurricanes (rugby union) players SU Agen Lot-et-Garonne players People educated at Bishop Viard College Rugby union players from Apia New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in France