Antonio
Shalfoon

Born and bred in the heart of the Crusaders region, Antonio Shalfoon was captain of the Lincoln High School first XV, and was awarded a rugby scholarship for Lincoln University. He then made the move north when he was selected for the Waikato provincial side in 2019.

The following year, Antonio made the move back down south for the Crusaders Development side and to play for Tasman Mako where he remains. A regular starter for Tasman, he has almost 30 NPC games to his name. He also played for the NZ Barbarians team in 2023 which beat the Heartland XV 49-26.

He made his debut for the Crusaders in 2024 coming off the bench against the Hurricanes and has since officially signed for the club.

“The main thing I noticed about joining the Crusaders was the comradery. Not one person is bigger than the team, I felt I could just be myself.”