Will Genia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Will Genia

Birth name	Sanchez William Genia
Date of birth	(1988-01-17) 17 January 1988 (age 37)
Place of birth	Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
Height	174 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	81 kg (12 st 11 lb; 179 lb)
School	Brisbane Boys' College
Rugby union career
Position(s) Scrum-half Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2007 Ballymore Tornadoes 6 (5) 2014–2015 Brisbane City 3 (5) 2015–2017 Stade Français 21 (10) 2019–2025 Kintetsu Liners 8 (19) Super Rugby Years Team Apps (Points) 2007–2015 Reds 114 (90) 2018–2019 Rebels 23 (30) Correct as of 16 June 2019 National team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 2005 Australia Schoolboys () 2006 Australia U19 () 2008 Australia U20 () 2009–2019 Australia 110 (90) Correct as of 1 November 2019

Will Genia before a World Cup match.

Will Genia, born on January 17, 1988, is a famous professional rugby union player. He plays as a scrum-half for the Kintetsu Liners team in Japan. Before that, he played for the Queensland Reds (2007–2015) and Melbourne Rebels (2018–2019) in Super Rugby. He also played for Stade Français in France from 2015 to 2017.

Will was born in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. He played for the Australian national team, known as the Wallabies, from 2009 to 2019. He played his first international match against New Zealand. Will Genia played in 110 international games for Australia. Many people, including former New Zealand scrum-half Justin Marshall, thought he was the best player in his position.

Will Genia's Early Life and Family

Will Genia was born in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. He started playing rugby when he moved to Brisbane, Australia, at age 12. He attended Brisbane Boys' College from 2000 to 2005.

In 2005, Will played for the Australia 'A' Schoolboys team. In 2006, he was part of the Australian Under 19 rugby team. This team won the IRB World Championship that year.

Will's father, Kilroy Genia, is from Papua New Guinea. He used to be a government minister there. His mother, Elizabeth Genia, is Australian. She became an assistant governor at the Bank of Papua New Guinea in 2011. Will's older brother, Frank Genia, also plays international rugby for Papua New Guinea.

Even though Will played many games for Australia and lived there since he was 12, he is not an Australian citizen. This is because of rules about how long you can be out of the country when applying for citizenship.

Will Genia's Rugby Career Highlights

Will Genia joined the Queensland Reds rugby team at the end of 2006. He played his first game for the Reds against Japan.

Starting His Super Rugby Journey (2007-2010)

Will made his Super 14 debut for the Reds in 2007. He was only 19 years old. He played in 11 of 13 matches that season. In 2007, he also played for the Ballymore Tornadoes.

In 2008, Will played seven more Super Rugby games for the Reds. He was chosen as the main scrum-half for the Australian Under 20 team. They played in the 2008 IRB Junior World Cup in Wales.

Will played in eight Super Rugby matches in 2009. He scored four tries that year. He missed the last two games due to a finger injury.

In 2009, Will was chosen for the Wallabies team. He played his first international game against the All Blacks on July 18, 2009. He started in several big games against the Springboks and All Blacks. He also played in five more international games in Japan and Europe.

In 2010, Will Genia became captain of the Reds. This happened after the regular captain, James Horwill, got injured. At the end of the season, his teammates voted him the best player. He also won the fans' player of the year award.

Leading the Reds and Wallabies (2011-2019)

Will won the Pilecki Medal again in 2011. Rugby writers also voted him the Australian Super Rugby Player of the Year. He became the 78th captain of the Wallabies. He led the team against the United States in the 2011 Rugby World Cup. He was also nominated for the 2011 IRB Player of the Year award.

In April 2012, he signed a new three-year deal with the Reds. In September 2012, Will injured his knee. He missed eight international games because of this. He returned to play for the Reds in March 2013.

After the 2015 Rugby World Cup, Will left Australia to play for Stade Français in France. On August 15, 2017, he signed with the Melbourne Rebels for the 2018 and 2019 Super Rugby seasons.

On November 24, 2018, Will Genia played his 100th game for Australia. He was only the 10th Wallaby player to reach this milestone. He played against England in London.

On July 12, 2019, Will announced he would retire from international rugby after the 2019 Rugby World Cup. He then signed to play for Kintetsu Liners in Japan.

Super Rugby Statistics

Will Genia's Community Work

Will Genia is an ambassador for The Kokoda Track Foundation. This foundation helps people in Papua New Guinea.

Will Genia's Rugby Achievements

• Queensland Reds
  • Super Rugby: 2011
  • Super Rugby Centurion (played 100+ games)
• Australia
  • Tri-Nations: 2011
  • The Rugby Championship: 2015
  • Wallabies Captain 2011-2013
  • Test Rugby Centurion (played 100+ international games)

See also

In Spanish: Will Genia para niños