Vince Aso
FullnameVincent Tavae Aso
Birth date5 January 1995 (age 31)
Birth placeAuckland, New Zealand
Height181 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight90 kg (198 lb; 14 st 2 lb)
SchoolSt. Peter's College
RelativesAkira Ioane (cousin)
Rieko Ioane (cousin)
PositionCentre, Wing
CurrentclubPanasonic Wild Knights
Years 12013–2017
Clubs 1Auckland
Apps 138
Points 175
Years 22016–2021
Clubs 2Hurricanes
Apps 257
Points 2110
Years 32019–2021
Clubs 3Wellington
Apps 325
Points 350
Years 42022–
Clubs 4Panasonic Wild Knights
Apps 460
Points 470
Repyears 12014–2015
Repteam 1New Zealand U20
Repcaps 111
Reppoints 125
Repyears 22017
Repteam 2Barbarian F.C.
Repcaps 22
Reppoints 20
Clubupdate16 March 2022
Repupdate16 March 2022

Vince Aso (born 5 January 1995) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a midfield back for Wellington in New Zealand's domestic Mitre 10 Cup and the in the international Super Rugby competition.[1][2][3][4][5]

Early career

Born and raised in Auckland, Aso attended St Peter's College in his hometown where he played first XV rugby. After finishing high school, he began playing for Ponsonby in the Gallaher Shield, Auckland's Premier club rugby competition. He also started working his way towards a Bachelor of Human Studies degree at the Victoria University of Wellington while supplementing his earnings with a part-time job as a builder.[1]

Senior career

Aso debuted for Auckland during the 2013 ITM Cup and racked up 4 tries in 7 appearances despite being aged just 18. He found opportunities harder to come by in 2014 especially in his preferred position in the midfield, playing only 3 times and scoring a solitary try. However, he was back in favour in 2015, featuring 8 times as Auckland reached the ITM Cup Premiership final before losing 25-23 to . 2016 was not such a good season for the blue and whites as they ended up in 5th place on the Premiership log which saw them miss out on the playoffs, Aso started all 10 games for them during the year and helped himself to 2 tries.[4]

Super Rugby

Aged just 20 and with only 10 provincial games, Aso was named in the squad for the 2015 Super Rugby season.[6][7] Having worked with 'Canes head-coach Chris Boyd before at New Zealand Under-20 level, Aso arrived in New Zealand's capital highly-rated, but lacking in experience, therefore it was perhaps no surprise that despite making the replacements bench several times during the year, he was unable to get on the park at any point to make his Super Rugby debut.

He did make the breakthrough in 2016, debuting in Conrad Smith's old number 13 jersey in the week 1, 52-10 hammering away to the . Things would pick up considerably for the Hurricanes as the season progressed and they went on to finish the year as Super Rugby champions following a 20-3 victory over the in the final. Aso struck up a fine midfield partnership with both Ngani Laumape and Willis Halaholo and scored 2 tries in 16 appearances during his first season as a regular in the Hurricanes starting XV.[4]

International

Aso was a New Zealand Schools representative in 2012 and later went on to be a member of the New Zealand Under-20 sides which competed in the 2014 IRB Junior World Championship and 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship. After finishing 3rd in the 2014 edition, Aso's stunning solo effort helped propel them to a 21-16 victory over England in the final of the 2015 tournament which was held in Italy.[8][9][10][11]

Career Honours

New Zealand Under-20

Hurricanes

Super Rugby Statistics

[4]

SeasonTeamGamesStartsSubMinsTriesConsPensDropsPointsYelRed
201500000000000
20161611588320001000
Total1611588320001000

References

  1. ^ "Vince Aso Hurricanes Player Profile". Hurricanes Rugby. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  2. ^ "Vince Aso Auckland Player Profile". Auckland Rugby. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  3. ^ "Hurricanes 2017 Squad Guide". All Blacks.com. Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  4. ^ "Vince Aso itsrugby.co.uk Player Statistics". itsrugby.co.uk. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  5. ^ "Vince Aso ESPN Scrum Player Profile". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  6. ^ "Move to Taranaki pays off for Iopu-Aso". Rugby Heaven. 16 October 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  7. ^ "Boyd confident Vince Aso ready for step up". Rugby Heaven. 18 September 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  8. ^ "Vince Aso New Zealand Under 20 Player Profile". All Blacks.com. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  9. ^ "NZSchools team named for internationals". All Blacks.com. 20 September 2012. Archived from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  10. ^ "NZU20 squad named for IRB JWC2014". All Blacks.com. 23 April 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  11. ^ "NZ Under 20 squad named for World Champs in Italy". All Blacks.com. 12 May 2015. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2017.