All Blacks hooker Asafo Aumua leaves the dark days behind to reignite his promising career
Sunday, 12 July 2026
There’s just a moment sitting here at the All Blacks’ plush hotel on the Auckland waterfront when Asafo Aumua gets a little teary-eyed recounting his journey back to the rugby pinnacle. It was the point when his father – his biggest supporter and harshest critic, all wrapped into a ball of tough Samoan love – realised the stark reality of what his son was going through on his dark path through concussion.
Aumua, one of the standout figures in the Hurricanes’ remarkable charge to the Super Rugby title, and now in line to play a key role in Saturday’s Nations Championship July finale against Ireland at Eden Park, has been through more than most to pull on the treasured black jersey of his country.
Last year was a challenge both physically and mentally for this bright, optimistic, easygoing Wellingtonian who has always been a breath of fresh air in whatever team he rolls up his sleeves for. He missed so much rugby, plagued with injuries and then a series of concussions and, most of all, self-doubts. He even got to a point where he wondered whether he would get back on the rugby field again.
“I wasn’t always positive … the headaches stayed on for a while. They happened at the same time every morning and would last until lunchtime. I would come in and see the boys doing recovery at NZCIS, or try to do something with the missus (he credits wife Elodie with being his “backbone” through this challenging period), and a few times it was just me sitting there and I’d be like, ‘f***… sorry, man, a lot of thoughts were going through my head. Dark thoughts.”
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It really hit home for this flamboyantly talented 29-year-old hooker when his father, Tautua, who has been the driving force of his rugby career, called him one day in apology mode. He’d been too hard on his son, he had finally realised, through a situation much more complex than he had been aware of.
Aumua has not spoken publicly about his father’s role through this difficult period of his life, but shares an emotional insight with the Star-Times during Italy week when he was not required for active duty by the All Blacks.
“At one point I started thinking, ‘will I ever play rugby again?’” he says of a ‘25 season where he was almost wholly marked absent. “Something happened. I got a bit emotional. My dad … growing up I had a pretty tough upbringing. He was always hard on me. He was my first coach, and he trained me like hell.
“He would make me run with him to work. He’d be on the bike or in the car, from Naenae to Seaview in Wellington. He’d drive to work and I’d run. Then, once we’d dropped him off at work, I’d have to run back home.
“He called me one day. It was after an NRL player, Eli Katoa of the Storm, got concussed three times in Tonga v New Zealand. My dad saw some stuff on the news, called me, and was upset. He told me, ‘I’m sorry, son’. Maybe he thought concussion was like nothing. He’s an old-school Samoan dad, and you just toughen out everything.
“He probably thought I was being soft. But then he realised what concussion was about and he apologised for how he was thinking. He said, ‘I didn’t know concussion was this bad’. It was all in Samoan, and an emotional moment for me. It sort of changed the way he supports me now. He’s still the loudest. I always hear him at games, when I do something good, or bad. It’s always in Samoan.”
Aumua’s insight into his rugby life is illuminating. This one-time St Pat’s Silverstream prodigy, who was a rollicking second five-eighths at school until he stopped growing and someone suggested a move to the front row, has long been considered a standout All Black in the making, but might still be in the process of delivering on that.
Aumua first toured with the All Blacks in 2017, as a designated apprentice, but had to wait three more years to make his test debut, against Australia in Brisbane. That was his lone appearance of 2020, and he played five tests in ‘21 before spending the next couple of years in the international wilderness. But Dane Coles’ retirement created an opening he looked ready to fill when he featured in all 14 tests of ‘24, before last year’s challenging pause.
Last Saturday’s July opener against the French in Christchurch, where he played 21 minutes off the bench as part of an all-Canes front-row impact unit (“That was special,” he muses), was just his 21st cap. Injuries, form fluctuations and a deep talent pool in his position have restricted his opportunities to make his mark at the highest level, as he has with the Hurricanes and Wellington below.
But, coming off a Super Rugby campaign for the ages, where he was just one of a raft of Hurricanes who left their imprint all over the competition, he looks ready to finally deliver on all that promise. All Blacks forwards coach Jason Ryan backs his nuggety hooker to keep riding that wave in the test arena.
“I honestly believe his best rugby is ahead of him for the All Blacks,'' says Ryan. 'We saw signs of that a couple of years ago when he came on against Ireland, and he came on for Codie after a head knock against England and did the job. There is good competition, but Asafo is going really well.''
You ask him about that dream Canes campaign this year where a mature and well-equipped team hit a giddy peak when it mattered. The backs were brilliant, but the foundation was undoubtedly laid by a pack that mixed outrageous skill with intrinsic execution of the basics.
A smile lights up his face.
“I’m just happy to be back in this environment, and back in good shape. It’s not perfect, but good enough to get myself back in here. That chemistry we had throughout the year was special. We didn’t have to force anything. Everyone was just themselves. No one was trying to be the hero . Everyone just stayed in their lane, knew their job, and did it well.”
Aumua credits an outstanding Super Rugby pre-season with laying the foundations for his form resurgence. He came in at 126kg and has whittled that back to 117 during a season that just got better. And better. And better.
“Our weeks were pretty much the same. We kept the main thing the main thing and kept grinding as a team. It was really enjoyable. We had a lot of fun, and that’s how we trained, too.”
Ambitions now?
“There’s always room to grow,” he responds, “I reckon I’m a young 29. Mentally, I’im ready to go, whatever opportunities I get. We’ve got Codes (Codie Taylor) and Soni (Samisoni Taukei’aho) here, and they’re good. They set a high standard.”
He swats off a question about Saturday’s Irish test at Eden Park – the blinkers are affixed, even when he’s third wheel for Italy – but concedes the “Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry” tour of South Africa looms as a monumental challenge.
“It’s special,” he nods. “I miss those trips, I miss playing those [South African] teams. They kept us honest. It was good for us. They’ve got a lot of depth, and those URC teams will be filled with young guys coming through, and will probably be just as hard [as the tests].”
But for now it’s head down, bum up, and thriving on an All Blacks standard being set by Dave Rennie and Neil Barnes that is exacting.
“They’re real clear with how they want us to play and it feels like everyone is on board and knows what’s required. It’s pretty fast and is a challenge. A good challenge though. It will make us all fitter.”
So what does success the rest of this year look like?
“Success is just being on the field, being healthy and enjoying it because it’s going to go by quickly. I had a whole year out, and that sucked, and being back here is a great feeling. I want to be a part of it as much as I can.”
Somewhere a proud Samoan father nods knowingly.