The Seattle Seawolves has Samuel Matenga returning for the second year of a three-year contract which takes him through the 2024 Major League Rugby season. The 24-year-old tighthead prop is 6’1′ and 265 lbs.
Sam played in 12 matches, starting 9, and scored 4 tries for the MLR Shield Finalists, Seawolves in 2022.
Sam was born in Gisborne, New Zealand, before moving with his family to Sydney, Australia in 2006, and then removing to Gisborne in 2016. He attended Gisborne Boys High School and played rugby. In 2017 he played for the Hurricanes U18s, Linwood Rugby Club, Christchurch Football Club, and the New Zealand Schools Barbarians, and joined the Crusaders Academy in Christchurch, where he played for the Crusaders U19s in a National Tournament, as well as for the Crusader Knights.
In 2018 he was called up to the New Zealand U20s, but his arrival in France coincided with a semi-final loss, which eliminated the team.
In 2019 was part of the Canterbury Wider Training Group and played for Sydenham. He also joined the Tasman Mako on a development contract before making his Mitre 10 Cup as an injury replacement. He would make two more appearances in 2019. That increased to 10 appearances in 2020, including 4 starts, and 9 starts in 2021. The Mako went on to win the Mitre 10 Cup in both 2019 and 2020, before losing in 2021 final in the renamed Bunnings NPC.
In 2020 he also played with Kahurangi Rugby Club. He toured the U.S. with the Mako and faced the Houston SaberCats, scoring the team’s first try in the win and then against the Seattle Seawolves.
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