Kurt Eklund rugby player
Kurt Eklund rugby player

Kurt Eklund

5th Jan 1992 1.80m/103kg Hooker

Eklund resembles the old breed of rugby player. A hard-grafting uncompromising hooker who has no fear of putting his body on the line for his team.

His debut for Auckland against Southland in 2015. He played a number of Mitre 10 Cup games for the blue and white hoops before a serious knee injury that saw Eklund out of the game for 14 months.

He has since recovered from his injuries and moved to the Bay of Plenty, providing stiff competition to Nathan Harris.

The hooker, nicknamed Kurty E uses his 1.80m and 105kg frame as a battering ram in the tight stuff but has no problem showing a turn of pace when needed out wide or on the break.

Eklund’s outstanding performances for Bay of Plenty in 2019 led to his inclusion in the Blues team on a one-year contract in 2020. He made his debut for the Blues against the Chiefs in Round 3 of the 2020 Super Rugby season and scored his first try in Round 6 of Super Rugby Aotearoa against the Hurricanes at the Cake Tin. He played 13 games for the Blues in 2020 including seven as starting hooker and was roundly lauded for his energetic performances.

Kurt’s form in 2020 saw him selected as the third hooker in the North squad for the revived ‘North vs South’ clash.

After initially missing out on the Blues squad for 2021, Eklund signed a two-year deal with the Auckland based side in February 2021 following the retirement of James Parsons.

JW Feb 2021





Career

Untitled (3) Bay of Plenty
Hooker
2019 - present
auckland-blues Blues
Hooker
2019 - present
1.ANGUS BELL 2. ROBBIE ABEL 3. HARRY JOHNSON-HOLMES 4. NED HANIG North Island
Hooker
2020 - present
maoriAllBlacks Maori All Blacks
Hooker
2021 - present
1e0a87f9f50f705d091ce86c884d79ff All Blacks XV
Hooker
2024 - present
ARU-Crest Auckland
Hooker
2015 - 2018
Auckland University RFC logo Auckland University RFC
Hooker