Ere Enari

Ereatara Enari (born 30 May 1997) is a rugby union player, who currently plays as a halfback for Moana Pasifika in Super Rugby.[2] He was born and raised in New Zealand, but has represented Manu Samoa internationally, for which he is eligible due to his Samoan heritage.

Ere Enari
Full nameEreatara C. Enari
Date of birth (1997-05-30) 30 May 1997
Place of birthAuckland, New Zealand
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight84 kg (185 lb; 13 st 3 lb)
SchoolSt. Kentigern College
UniversityLincoln University
Notable relative(s)Michael Jones (uncle)
Eroni Clarke (uncle)
Caleb Clarke (cousin)[1]
Rugby union career
Position(s) Halfback
Current team Moana Pasifika
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016–2020 Canterbury 40 (5)
2017–2021 Crusaders 9 (0)
2021–2022 Hawke's Bay 20 (5)
2022– Moana Pasifika 24 (0)
Correct as of 28 August 2023
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016–2017 New Zealand U20 7 (5)
2022– Samoa 8 (0)
Correct as of 17 September 2023

Early career

Enari was born in Auckland, but grew up in Gisborne and Palmerston North. He attended Tū Toa until his last year of school moving to Saint Kentigern College in Auckland. After school, he moved to New Zealand's South Island to attend Lincoln University where he played Hawkins Cup rugby and won the championship in 2015, 2016 and 2017. During this time he also attended the Crusaders Academy.[1][3]

Senior career

Enari was first named in the Canterbury squad ahead of the 2016 Mitre 10 Cup. Initially, he was expected to be 3rd choice halfback for the defending champions, however, season-ending injuries to first-choice Mitchell Drummond and his replacement Alby Mathewson saw Enari thrust into the starting number 9 jersey at 19 years old. He made 9 appearances, 7 of them from the start, as Canterbury retained their Mitre 10 Cup Premiership title which was their eighth success in nine seasons.[4] On a pre-season training contract with the Crusaders in preparation for the NZ U20’s tour in 2017, Enari made his Super Rugby debut in a round 1 victory against the Brumbies. He went on to play another 8 games between 2018-2020.

On 15 October 2021, Moana Pasifika announced via its social media accounts that the new Super Rugby franchise had signed Enari for the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season.[5] On 4 March 2022, he made his debut for Moana Pasifika in their inaugural Super Rugby game against the Crusaders.[6]

International

Enari was a New Zealand Schoolboys representative in 2014 and also turned out for New Zealand Universities in 2015 touring Japan. He was involved with the New Zealand Under 20 team in 2016 where he worked with his future Canterbury head coach, Scott Robertson[7] Missing out on World Cup selection in 2016, Enari became Vice Captain in 2017 and was a part of one of the most dominant Junior World Cup victories in decades. Unbeaten in the tournament and winning the final against England 64-17.

On 2 June 2022, Enari – who is of Samoan and Māori descent – was named in the Manu Samoa squad for the first time.[8] He made his international debut for Samoa on 2 July 2022 against Australia A in their first game of the 2022 Pacific Nations Cup, which they won 31–26.[9]

References
  1. "Ere Enari Canterbury Player Profile". Canterbury Rugby. Archived from the original on 13 November 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  2. "Moana Pasifika name 2023 DHL Super Rugby Pacific Squad". Moana Pasifika (Press release). 22 November 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  3. "Ere Enari makes strides for Canterbury after tough break". Rugby Heaven. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  4. "Ere Enari itsrugby Player Statistics". it's rugby. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  5. @MoanaPasifika_ (15 October 2021). "Afio mai Ereatara Enari" (Tweet). Retrieved 15 October 2021 – via Twitter.
  6. "Super Rugby Pacific: 'This has been 26 years in the making' for Moana Pasifika". Stuff NZ. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  7. "Ere Enari New Zealand Under 20 Player Profile". All Blacks.com. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  8. Manu Samoa [@manusamoa] (2 June 2022). "Manu Samoa Head Coach, Vaovasamanaia Seilala Mapusua announces his squad for the up-coming Pacific Nations Cup (PNC) 2022 in July to be held in Fiji" (Tweet). Retrieved 2 July 2022 – via Twitter.
  9. Manu Samoa [@manusamoa] (30 June 2022). "Team Naming: Your Manu Samoa vs Australia A" (Tweet). Retrieved 2 July 2022 – via Twitter.
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