Jason Eaton

Jason John Eaton (born 21 August 1982 in Palmerston North, New Zealand) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer. He plays lock.

Early life

Though born in Palmerston North he grew up on a dairy farm near the small community of Colyton.

Career

Eaton made his provincial debut for Manawatu in 2002, before transferring to Taranaki in 2004. He currently plays for the Hurricanes in Super Rugby and for Taranaki in the National Provincial Championship.

Eaton attended Feilding Intermediate and Palmerston North Boys' High School. He plays for Stratford in the Taranaki premier competition. He was picked out of obscurity by Graham Henry to tour with the All Blacks on their successful Grand Slam Tour of November 2005. At the time, Eaton had not played professional super series rugby. He made his All Black debut aged 23, versus Ireland on that tour. He has currently played in 9 tests.

Currently Eaton plays for the Hurricanes in the Super 14 where as of August 19, 2006 he has scored 20 points (4 tries) and played in 15 games. Eaton had an explosive start with the Hurricanes; scoring a pair of tries against the Western Force in his first match for the Hurricanes at Taranaki’s home ground in New Plymouth.

Before his break, Eaton played 25 games for Division Two NPC side Manawatu in 2002–2003, scoring three tries.

On 21 November 2006 Jason Eaton won the International Rugby Players' Association's (IRPA) international newcomer of the year award. This award is voted on by all international...
Read More