Samu Manoa

Samu Manoa

Manoa with the Eagles in the 2015 World Cup
Date of birth	(1985-03-05) 5 March 1985 (age 32)
Place of birth	Concord, California, United States
Height	2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)
Weight	127 kg (20 st 0 lb; 280 lb)
Occupation(s)	Rugby union player
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position	Lock Number 8
Amateur clubs Years Club / team     2003-2010 San Francisco Golden Gate RFC
Professional / senior clubs Years Club / team Apps (points) 2011-2015 2015-present Northampton Saints Toulon 122 19 (130) (5) Correct as of 19 October 2016
National team(s) Years Club / team Apps (points) 2010-present 2013 United States Barbarians 17 2 (10) (0) Correct as of 19 November 2016

Samu Manoa (born March 5, 1985) is an American rugby union player who currently plays second row or back row for Toulon. Manoa was described in 2014 by ESPNscrum as "perhaps the finest No.8 playing the game in the northern hemisphere."

Manoa was born in Concord, California. He started playing rugby at 13 years old with his family. His coaches through his early years were his father and his uncle, Va'inga Manoa and Hu'ufifale (himself a rugby star in his youth in Tonga before emigrating to Hawaii). Manoa played for San Francisco Golden Gate RFC from 2003-2011. He helped SFGG win the U.S. Rugby Super League in 2009 and 2011 crossing four times in the process. In his final game for the Golden Gate, Manoa again showed his nose for the tryline, opening the scoring as his side claimed the title once more. San Francisco Golden Gate were national runners up in 2010.

In April 2011 Manoa signed for English Premiership side Northampton Saints for the 2011–12 season. Northampton were impressed with his ball skills, pace and physicality. In autumn 2011 Manoa hit the ground running for the Saints with a series of powerful performances in the early rounds of Aviva Premiership Rugby and worked himself into Northampton's starting rotation. A series of outstanding performances earned him man of the match awards in wins over Castres and Harlequins, and the big second row fast became an integral part of the Saints squad. Over the course of the 2011-12 season, Manoa played in 18 Premiership games for the Saints, with 14 starts. Manoa was named by ESPN to the 2011-12 Premiershp "Dream Team."

On February 15, 2012 Manoa signed a three-year contract extension with Northampton Saints. He was honoured with the Northampton Saints Supporters' Player of the Year for the 2012-13 Premiership season. During the 2013-14 season Manoa replicated his success and subsequently was short-listed for the RPA Player's Player of the Year award and the Premiership Player of the Year. Furthermore, for the second year in succession Manoa was voted the Saints Supporters' Player of the Season. He achieved his first English Premiership hat trick on October 11, 2014 as Northampton dominated Sale Sharks 43-10. Just two months later he achieved another hat trick in a substitute appearance in which Saints drubbed Benetton Treviso 67-0 in the European Rugby Champions Cup. On the back of several strong performances in the Premiership and Champions Cup, Manoa won the Aviva Premiership Player of the Month for December 2014.