Rodney Iona Explained

Rodney Iona
Fullname:Rodney Esekia Iona
Birth Date:17 August 1991
Birth Place:Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Height:1.770NaN0
Weight:890NaN0
Position:Fly-half
Currentclub:NOLA Gold
Years1:2014–2015
Clubs1:Brumbies
Apps1:3
Points1:0
Years2:2014–2015
Clubs2:Canberra Vikings
Apps2:15
Points2:44
Years4:2016–2017
Clubs4:Béziers
Apps4:22
Points4:0
Years5:2017
Clubs5:Santboiana
Apps5:1
Points5:0
Years8:2019–2020
Clubs8:Jersey Reds
Apps8:11
Points8:10
Years10:2022
Clubs10:Brumbies
Apps10:7
Points10:0
Years11:2023–
Clubs11:NOLA Gold
Apps11:11
Points11:77
Repyears1:2018–
Repteam1:Samoa
Repcaps1:8
Reppoints1:21
Clubupdate:14 May 2023
Repupdate:14 May 2023

Rodney Esekia Iona (born 17 August 1991) is a professional rugby union player who plays as a fly-half for Major League Rugby club NOLA Gold in Major League Rugby (MLR). Born in Australia, he represents Samoa at international level after qualifying on eligibility grounds.[1] [2] [3]

Professional career

Originally from Melbourne, Iona made his way north to Australia's capital Canberra in an attempt to forge out a rugby career for himself. In 2011 he linked up with the Tuggeranong Vikings who play in the ACTRU Premier Division while attending the academy. He represented the Brumbies at sevens and won the World Club Sevens Championship in 2013 and also played in the World Club 10s tournament in Singapore.[4]

A spate of injuries for the Brumbies in the middle of the 2014 Super Rugby season saw Iona earn his first cap in a derby match against the in Sydney. His debut didn't go quite as well as he'd have liked with his first pass being intercepted which resulted in a Waratahs try.[4] Despite this Iona was offered a full-time one-year contract with the Brumbies ahead of the 2015 Super Rugby season.[5]

Iona also played for the Canberra Vikings in the first ever National Rugby Championship in 2014 making 6 appearances.[3]

Iona joined French Rugby Pro D2 side AS Béziers Hérault in July 2016.[6] He made 18 appearances in his first season, but suffered a serious neck injury after just four matches in 2017 that threatened his career. He was released by Béziers and joined Spanish División de Honor de Rugby side UE Santboiana.[7]

Statistics

Season Team Games Starts Sub Mins Tries Cons Pens Drops Points Yel Red
1 0 1 62 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2 0 2 51 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 3 0 3 113 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Rodney Iona: Jersey Reds sign versatile Samoa international . BBC Sport . 27 November 2019 . 12 December 2019.
  2. Web site: Rondey Iona Canberra Vikings Player Profile . Brumbies Rugby . 10 December 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150403010948/http://www.brumbies.com.au/ucvikings/team/vikingsprofile.aspx?pid=913 . 3 April 2015.
  3. Web site: Rodney Iona itsrugby Player Statistics . itsrugby . 10 December 2014.
  4. Web site: ACT Brumbies sign Canberra Vikings centre Rodney Iona . Sydney Morning Herald . 17 September 2014 . 10 December 2014.
  5. Web site: Iona upgrades to UC Brumbies in 2015 . Brumbies Rugby . 17 September 2014 . 10 December 2014 . dead . https://archive.today/20140917070348/http://www.brumbies.com.au/News/Article/tabid/1213/ArticleID/12394/Iona-upgrades-to-UC-Brumbies-in-2015.aspx . 17 September 2014.
  6. Recrutement de Rodney Iona . ASBH . 6 July 2016 . 6 December 2017 . French.
  7. La Santboiana fitxa el tres quarts australià Rodney Iona . RugbyCat . 4 December 2017 . 6 December 2017 . Catalan.