Education
Auva'a then moved to Australia as a teenager and attended Ipswich Grammar School in Queensland and played rugby league for the Norths Ipswich Tigers.
Auva'a then moved to Australia as a teenager and attended Ipswich Grammar School in Queensland and played rugby league for the Norths Ipswich Tigers.
In January 2014 he violently attacked an ex-girlfriend. Pleading guilty, he was given a two year good behaviour bond. The NRL suspended him for nine months and put him on a counselling programme for various issues.
Born in Motootua, Samoa, Auva'a moved to New Zealand and played his junior football for the Otahuhu Rovers. He represented the Australian A Schoolboys rugby union side. Auva'a was signed by the Melbourne Storm, playing in their Under-20s team from 2010 to 2012 before joining the Storm's first grade squad.
While playing for Melbourne's NYC side, Auva'a represented Queensland Under 18's in 2010, making him eligible for the senior Queensland Origin team, and was the 18th man for Queensland in the inaugural Under 20's Origin game in 2012. Playing 2014
In 2014, Auva'a joined the South Sydney Rabbitohs. His season was interrupted by the repercussions of the domestic violence incident in January, but with the magistrate's deferral of her decision for six months, Auva'a was free to resume playing.
On 5 October 2014, in the Rabbitohs 2014 NRL Grand Final match against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Auva’a played at centre and scored a try in the Rabbitohs 30-6 victory. Auva’a finished his debut year in the NRL in 2014 season with him playing in 21 matches and scoring 9 tries for the Rabbitohs. 2015
On 30 June, Auva'a was cleared by the NRL to play in the Rabbitoh's NSW Cup feeder team North Sydney Bears.
He finished the 2015 season having played in 5 matches for the Rabbitohs. On 14 November, he re-signed on a 3-year contract to the end of the 2018 season. 2016
In February, Auva'a played for the Rabbitohs in the 2016 NRL Auckland Nines.
On 28 May 2014, Auva'a entered a guilty plea to charges of recklessly causing injury and criminal damage in Melbourne Magistrates Court after being arrested for a violent attack in the early hours of January 18. After drinking heavily at a wedding, he threw his ex-girlfriend against a garage wall and punched holes in the walls of her home. South Sydney fined him $2,000 and suspended him for 7 days.
The magistrate, who described the incident as "devastating", deferred her decision for six months. Auva'a was bailed to return to court in November, when he was given a two year good behaviour bond and a fine of $3,000. On 13 November 2014, Auva'a was handed a 9-month suspension by the NRL, ending with round 22 of the 2015 season, and ordered to complete a secondary prevention counselling program covering issues including violence against women, alcohol abuse and anger management.
An attempt by Auva'a to have his suspension lifted early was denied by the NRL.