King Vuniyayawa
King Vuniyayawa (born 13 March 1995) is a Fijian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop orsecond-row for the Salford Red Devils in the Betfred Super League and Fiji at international level.
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Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 13 March 1995 Lautoka, Viti Levu, Fiji | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 16 st 10 lb (106 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Prop, Second-row | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of 31 December 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
He has previously played for the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL and the Leeds Rhinos in the Super League.
Background
Vuniyayawa was born in Lautoka, Fiji.[3]
Career
In 2018, Vuniyayawa was selected to represent Fiji vs Papua New Guinea.[4] Vuniyayawa made his NRL debut in Round 1, 2020, in the Warriors' 20–0 loss against the Newcastle Knights.[5]
Leeds
On 16 January 2021, it was reported that he had signed for Leeds in the Super League.[6] On 9 October, Vuniyayawa signed a two-year contract to join Salford.[7]
Salford
On 9 October 2021 Salford announced the signing of Fijian international King Vuniyayawa on a two-year contract. Following Salford's 30-14 victory over Castleford in May 2022, Vuniyayawa was ruled out of the remainder of the 2022 season with a pectoral injury. Vuniyayawa made a remarkable recovery and made returned to first team action in the resounding Round 26 victory away at Castleford.[8] In the 2023 Super League season, he played 25 matches for Salford as the club finished 7th on the table and missed the playoffs.[9]
References
- loverugbyleague
- Rugby League Project
- "King Vuniyayawa". Retrieved 5 September 2020.
- "All the teams for the rugby league's 2018 representative weekend". News.com.au. 17 June 2018.
- "Knights v Warriors". National Rugby League. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
- "King Vuniyayawa: Leeds Rhinos sign New Zealand Warriors back-rower". BBC Sport. 16 January 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- "King Vuniyayawa on why he decided to join Salford". www.loverugbyleague.com.
- "Salford duo ruled out for season, Paul Rowley confirms". www.loverugbyleague.com.
- "Salford Red Devils' 2023 season in review". www.salfordnow.co.uk.