Mafileo attended Wesley college and excelled in Rugby playing the role of a bust-out prop with excellent speed & acceleration. He later attended Saint Kentigern College in Auckland and won the Auckland schools competition with them in 2012.[3]
Senior career
Despite being named in North Harbour's squad for the 2013 ITM Cup, serious illness prevented him from making any appearances that year.[3] He managed to make it onto the field the following season, but was merely a bit part player, playing 3 times. 2015 was when he really started to establish himself as Harbour's first choice in the number 3 jersey, he played 9 times that season, all of his appearances coming from the start. He continued to be a regular in North Harbour's Championship winning season in 2016, playing in all 12 of their games during the campaign and scoring his first ever provincial try as Harbour upset the more fancied Wellington and Otago to win promotion to the Mitre 10 Cup Premiership for 2017.[2]
Super Rugby
Despite only having 3 provincial appearances under his belt at the time, Mafileo was called up by the Blues to provide front-row injury cover in the latter part of the 2015 Super Rugby season. He debuted in a New Zealand derby match against the Crusaders and made one other appearance from the replacements bench before the campaign was out.[5] The Blues, under new head-coach Tana Umaga retained his services for 2016 and he went on to play 6 times during the year, including his first 2 starts for the franchise.[2] He was again named in the Blues squad for the 2017 season.[3]
