Jason Eaton
Jason John Eaton (born 21 August 1982) is a New Zealand rugby union player. He plays as a lock. He currently plays for Stade Rochelais.
| Birth name | Jason John Eaton | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 21 August 1982 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Palmerston North, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 115 kg (18 st 2 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Palmerston North Boys' High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Early life
Although born in Palmerston North, Eaton grew up on a dairy farm near the small community of Colyton.
He attended Feilding Intermediate and then Palmerston North Boys' High School.
Career
Eaton made his provincial debut for Manawatu in 2002, before transferring to Taranaki in 2004.
He played 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.
Notably, Eaton played for the Hurricanes in Super Rugby where he scored 10 tries and played in 88 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.
Eaton has played 15 test matches for the All Blacks between 2005 and 2009.
Eaton played 25 games for Manawatu in 2002–03, 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 players, with players not allowed to vote for members of their own team.