Austin Herd signed Dominic Akina for the 2020 Major League Rugby season. The 25-year-old center is 6’2” and 215 lbs. Dominic played with the Austin Herd in their 57-12 exhibition season win over the Austin Huns on January 4, 2020.
Dominic was born and raised in Hauula, Hawaii and later moved to Oregon. He attended Century High School in Hillsboro, Oregon and was a member of the football and track teams.
He then enrolled at Western Oregon University as a Health Education and Exercise Science major in 2012, but a football injury resulted in his taking some time off before returning to the university. Currently, he has one more year remaining to graduate.
Dominic played safety, cornerback, and linebacker in football and was an outside center in rugby. The latter sport became his love and he excelled.
He was named Player of the Year after 2015-16, 2017-18, and 2018-19 seasons. He was also the top try scorer in 2015-16 and in 2019. From 2017-2019 he as the team’s Assistant Rugby Coach.
Dominic also played rugby with the Willamette Sharks Rugby Club. The team was formed in 2017 and is affiliated with the International Rugby Institute in South Africa.
The Sharks ”developed our program to provide a bone-jarring example of how people from very different backgrounds can work together to achieve something truly remarkable. Our goal is simple: to dominate the competition, show the world that diversity is power, and #ruckracism.”
After attending a combine, Dominic impressed Austin Herd with the vertical leap test. He has a 41” leap and has been timed in a 40-yard dash in 4.38 seconds.
Other interests include spending time with his family, being out on the water kayaking, fishing, …, enjoying BBQ, and playing video games.
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