Oneata Schwalger (born 4 July 1985) is an Australian rugby union and rugby league footballer who plays for the New South Wales Waratahs in the Super W. Primarily a prop, she is an Australia international and previously played for the St George Illawarra Dragons in the NRL Women's Premiership.

Oneata Schwalger
Personal information
Born (1985-07-04) 4 July 1985 (age 39)
Apia, Samoa
Height175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight89 kg (14 st 0 lb)
Playing information
Rugby league
PositionProp
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2018 St George Illawarra 3 0 0 0 0
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2015 Women's All Stars 1 0 0 0 0
Rugby union
PositionProp
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2020 NSW Waratahs 4 0 0 0 0
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2014 Australia
Source: RLP
As of 16 November 2020

Background

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Born in Apia, Samoa, Schwalger was raised in Porirua, New Zealand. In Porirua, she played rugby union for Norths and rugby league for the Porirua Vikings. Her brother John is a former All Black and her cousin, Tim Lafai, is a Samoan rugby league international.[1]

Playing career

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Rugby union

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In 2007, Schwalger moved to Australia and played rugby union, first in Perth and later in Melbourne. In Melbourne, she played for the Melbourne Unicorns.[2]

In 2014, Schwalger represented Australia at the 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup in France.[3]

In 2020, she played for the NSW Waratahs in the Super W competition.[4]

Rugby league

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In 2015, Schwalger represented the Women's All Stars against the Indigenous All Stars, becoming the first player based outside of Queensland and New South Wales to play for the side.[5]

In 2017, she joined the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks NSWRL Women's Premiership team and was selected in the Australian train-on squad.[6][7]

In 2018 and 2019, she represented the Combined Affiliated States at the Women's National Championships.[8][9]

On 13 June 2018, she signed with the St George Illawarra Dragons NRL Women's Premiership team.[10] In Round 1 of the 2018 NRL Women's season, she made her debut for the Dragons in a 4–30 loss to the Brisbane Broncos.[11]

References

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  1. ^ "Lafai's cousin among Dragons' women's recruits". St George Illawarra Dragons. 13 June 2018.
  2. ^ "Oneata Schwalger goes from Porirua rugby family into the NRL big league". Stuff.co.nz. 11 September 2018.
  3. ^ "WRWC 2014: Disciplinary update". World Rugby. 14 August 2014.
  4. ^ "Schwalger awarded first ISCA Scholarship in new partnership". NSW Rugby. 13 January 2020.
  5. ^ "Victorian to represent Women's All Stars". Melbourne Storm. 9 February 2015.
  6. ^ "WNRL Team List v Raiders". Cronulla Sharks. 7 March 2017.
  7. ^ "Trailblazing Victorian eyeing World Cup". NRL. 11 August 2017.
  8. ^ "Women's Nationals the perfect Origin appetiser". NRL. 29 May 2018.
  9. ^ "Line-ups named for Women's National Championships". NRL. 22 May 2019.
  10. ^ "Marquee quartet further boosts Dragons' Women's Premiership squad". St George Illawarra Dragons. 13 June 2018.
  11. ^ "Late mail: Women's Premiership (Round 1)". St George Illawarra Dragons. 9 September 2018.
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