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Henry Fa'afili

b. 1980

Samoan-New Zealand rugby league and rugby union footballer

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About Henry Fa'afili

Born 1980. Henry Fa'afili is a New Zealand rugby league player and rugby union player.

Henry Fa'afili (born 30 May 1980) is a former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. He played representative rugby league (RL) for New Zealand Secondary Schools, the New Zealand Junior Kiwis, New Zealand and Samoa, and at club level for Auckland Warriors and the Warrington Wolves, as a , or ,

New Zealand Warriors He made his début for the Auckland Warriors in the Australasian National Rugby League in round 8 of the 2000 NRL season against the Sydney Roosters. In the 2001 NRL season, he played 27 games as the newly rebranded New Zealand Warriors side qualified for the finals in what was the first time in their history. He played in the clubs 56-12 qualifying final loss to Parramatta. In 2002, New Zealand claimed the Minor Premiership with Fa'afili playing 17 games. Fa'afili did not play in the clubs 2002 NRL Grand Final loss against the Sydney Roosters. In 2003, New Zealand reached the finals once again but were defeated in the preliminary final against eventual premiers Penrith with Fa'afili playing in this game.

Warrington Wolves Fa'afili signed for the Warrington Wolves in 2004, and made his début on Sunday 8 August 2004, and whilst at the Warrington Wolves he scored many tries from high cross field kicks from Lee Briers. He scored 73 tries in 97 appearances for the Warrington Wolves. He was the top try-scorer in the Super League for the 2007's Super League XII. He left the Warrington Wolves at the end of 2007 season because of salary cap restraints. Fa'afili played his last match for the Warrington Wolves in the 34–26 victory over the Salford City Reds on Friday 14 September 2007.

Harlequins Rugby League

Biarritz Olympique Fa'afili agreed what was initially seen as a short-term deal with French rugby union side Biarritz. He was initially meant to play there short-term but ended up staying longer.

Leeds Carnegie He joined Leeds Carnegie ahead of the 2010–11 English Premiership season but left after one season when the club were relegated.

Connacht Rugby Henry joined Connacht in the summer of 2011 as part of Head Coach Eric Elwood's squad, joining fellow Samoan Ray Ofisa. He left after one season

International career Fa'afili has also represented New Zealand in rugby league at international level on several occasions, scoring a hat-trick against Great Britain in 2003 at Ewood Park, Blackburn during the Tri-Nations. His last appearance for New Zealand was against Great Britain in June 2006 at St Helens. He also represented Samoa in the 2000 World Cup. He has also been capped internationally in rugby union for Samoa

Match Fit In 2023, Fa'afili participated in season 3 of Match Fit, where former rugby players return to play against the Australian counterparts. He joined in the first season that featured former rugby league stars.

He revealed he had undergone double hip replacements, but collapsed after finishing the first Bronco agility test due to breathing difficulties. It was later revealed he was suffering from atrial fibrillation and a precursor to a stroke. He was medically retired from this programme and put on a tailor-made programme away from the cameras to get himself back in relative health.

During the next 11 weeks, he had psychological counselling, but also done the Tauranga Round the Bays 5 km fun run. He even beat Alex Flint, the show's trainer, in terms of heart rate control in the 11-week reassessment. He also managed to half his time on the final Bronco with a time of 6:41, beating Lesley Vanikolo's time of 7:30. On the final episode, however, he revealed that he was declared unfit to play due to risk of cardiac arrest and his lack of full contact training.

In 2024, he was cleared by his cardiologist to return for Match Fit: Union vs. League. While Pita Alatini and Carlos Spencer went -15 for metabolic age vs. biological age for the best possible result, he and Lesley Vanikolo started out +15, which is the worst possible result. He also suffered dizziness before the initial Bronco test, but the tests had shown that due to atrial fibrilation, he can no longer perform at a level required for the show and had to withdraw and rehab again.

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Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Education
Manurewa High School

People in Henry Fa'afili's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Henry Fa'afili's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Henry Fa'afili?

Samoan-New Zealand rugby league and rugby union footballer

When was Henry Fa'afili born?

Henry Fa'afili was born on 30 May 1980 in Apia.

What is Henry Fa'afili's occupation?

Henry Fa'afili is a rugby league player and rugby union player.

What nationality is Henry Fa'afili?

Henry Fa'afili is New Zealand.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Henry Fa'afili

· Wikidata: Q5721042

· DBpedia: Henry Fa'afili

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Henry Fa'afili. https://biography.guide/henry-fa-afili/

MLA: "Henry Fa'afili." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/henry-fa-afili/.

Chicago: "Henry Fa'afili." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/henry-fa-afili/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

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