Mat Luamanu (born 25 November 1988) is a

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 player for

Bayonne Bayonne () is a city in southwestern France near the France–Spain border, Spanish border. It is a communes of France, commune and one of two subprefectures in France, subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques departments of France, departm ...

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 National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also ...

. Luamanu played representative rugby for Wellington from Under-16 through to the Under-21 level, and also played for the Hurricanes Schools team for two years. He represented New Zealand Schools and New Zealand Under-20s, winning the

2008 IRB Junior World Championship The 2008 IRB Junior World Championship was the first annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. All players who were twenty years of age or under on 1 January 2008 were eligible for selection. This competition repl ...

in Wales. He made his provincial debut 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 2008. Luamanu switched from Wellington to

North Harbour North Harbour or North Harbor may refer to: Canada * North Harbour, St. Mary's Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, a community on St. Mary's Bay * North Harbour, Placentia Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, a community on Placentia Bay * North Harbour, ...

for the 2010 ITM Cup, Luamanu shone, scoring hat-tricks on two occasions. Luamanu had a superb season with North Harbour in 2010 NPC competition and was rewarded with selection to the

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

squad in 2011. Luamanu played four games in Super Rugby in 2011 but found his route blocked by the presence of

Jerome Kaino Jerome Kaino (born 6 April 1983) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. In 2004, he was named IRB International Under-21 player of the year. In 2011, he was named the New Zealand Rugby player of the year, finishing ahead of Richie McCaw ...

. He subsequently had another fantastic season of NPC rugby in 2011 for North Harbour which saw him receiving offers in France and Japan. He opted for Japan and played the 2012–13 and 2013–14 season for

Kyuden Voltex Kyūshu Kyuden Voltex is a Japanese rugby team owned by Kyushu Electric Power Co. (Kyūshū Denryoku). The nickname "Voltex" is a conflation of "Voltage" and "Techniques" and was decided after the team won promotion to the Top League. The team i ...

in the

Top League Japan Rugby League One (), formerly known as 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 ...

. A move to northern Italy was next for 2014–15 season as Luamanu joined Benetton Treviso to play in the

Pro12 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in ...

and

European Rugby Champions Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Investec Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pr ...

. Luamanu made his move to England to join Harlequins 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 ...

from the 2015–16 season. On 11 June 2019, Luamanu travels to France to sign for

in the

competition from the 2019–20 season.

References

External links