Inoke Male
 | |||
| Full name | Inoke Male | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 3 June 1963 | ||
| Place of birth | Nausori, Fiji | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Weight | 103 kg (16 st 3 lb) | ||
| Rugby union career | |||
| Playing career | |||
| Position | Number eight | ||
| Professional / senior clubs | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
 Navy |
? | (?) | |
| National team(s) | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 1998–2001 | Fiji |
15 | (5) |
| Coaching career | |||
| Years | Club / team | ||
| 2012–2014 –2012 |
Fiji Vatukoula Rugby | ||
Inoke Male, (born 3 June 1963 in Nausori, Fiji), is a former Fijian rugby union player and former head coach of the Fijian national side.[1] He played in the position of Number eight, but could also play Flanker during his playing career.
Fiji Caps
Male earned his first cap for Fiji on 18 September 1998 against Australia in Sydney, where he started in the Number eight jersey. He has played for Fiji before this match, but was a non-test match against New Zealand club side Northland. He last played for his country on 8 July 2001 against neighbouring pacific island team Samoa. He played 22 times for Fiji (only 15 test matches), scoring only 5 points with his try against Samoa in 2001.
| Cap #[2] | Date | Opponents | Score | Result | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | 9 August 1998 |  Northland | 44–30 | Lost | Lowe Walker Stadium, Whangarei |
| 1 | 18 September 1998 |  Australia | 66–20 | Lost | Parramatta Stadium, Sydney |
| – | 8 November 1998 |  Penzance & Newlyn | 5–53 | Won | Mennaye Field, Cornwall |
| – | 19 November 1998 | Brisol Select XV | 28–58 | Won | Memorial Stadium, Bristol |
| – | 24 November 1998 |  Glasgow Caledonians | 41–22 | Lost | Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow |
| – | 27 November 1998 | Edinburgh Reivers | 27–30 | Won | Mansfield Park, Hawick |
| – | 30 November 1998 | Leeds Tykes | 27–10 | Lost | Headingley Stadium, Leeds |
| – | 17 August 1999 | Australian Barbarians | 31–25 | Lost | North Sydney Oval, Sydney |
| 2 | 26 August 1999 |  Uruguay | 39–24 | Won | Stadio Tommaso Fattori, L'Aquila (NV) |
| 3 | 20 October 1999 | England | 45–24 | Lost | Twickenham Stadium, London |
| 4 | 20 May 2000 |  Japan | 22–47 | Won | Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Tokyo |
| 5 | 26 May 2000 |  Tonga | 22–25 | Won | Teufaiva Stadium, Nukuʻalofa |
| 6 | 3 June 2000 |  Samoa | 31–17 | Lost | Apia Park, Apia |
| 7 | 30 June 2000 |  United States | 37–21 | Won | Apia Park, Apia (NV) |
| 8 | 7 July 2000 |  Canada | 11–42 | Won | Apia Park, Apia (NV) |
| 9 | 15 July 2000 |  Italy | 43–9 | Won | Churchill Park, Lautoka |
| 10 | 25 May 2001 | Tonga | 31–26 | Lost | Teufaiva Stadium, Nukuʻalofa |
| 11 | 9 June 2001 | Samoa | 27–36 | Lost | National Stadium, Suva |
| 12 | 16 June 2001 | Tonga | 25–20 | Won | Churchill Park, Lautoka |
| 13 | 23 June 2001 | Samoa | 19–22 | Won | Apia Park, Apia |
| 14 | 3 July 2001 | Canada | 23–52 | Won | Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Tokyo (NV) |
| 15 | 8 July 2001 | Samoa | 28–17 | Won | Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Tokyo (NV) |
Coach of Fiji
Inoke Male was named the Head Coach of the national side on 13 January 2013 following a disappointing fourth place in Pool D in the 2011 Ruby World Cup with Sam Domoni in charge. This included a record losing 66–0 to Wales and an unconvincing 49–25 win over Namibia.
Male's first match in charge was against Japan in the 2012 IRB Pacific Nations Cup, which saw Fiji win 25–19. They narrowly lost to Samoa in the second round 29–26, but finished second in the overall table following a 29–17 win over Tonga. Male also coached Fiji against Tier 1 nation Scotland during the 2012 mid-year rugby union tests, but Scotland were the victors 37–25 in Lautoka. Inoke and his team had a disappointing end-of-year tour in 2012, losing 54–12 to England in London and losing 53–0 to Ireland XV in Munster. They earned a close 24–19 win over Georgia, but the team also lost to English domestic club side Gloucester 31–29.
2013 saw Fiji win their first ever IRB Pacific Nations Cup winning 4 from 5 in the tournament; 22–8 win over Japan, 35–10 win over the United States and a 34–21 win over Tonga. Fiji's only loss was to Canada 20–18. In addition to the Pacific Nations Cup, Inoke led Fiji to a 33–14 win over the Classic All Blacks as part of Fiji's centennial celebrations. The 2013 end-of-year tour saw Fiji win 2 from 4 on tour; 36–13 win over Portugal in Lisbon and a 26–7 win over Romania in Bucharest. Fiji lost to a star-studded Barbarians side 43–19 and to a weakened Italian side 37–31. This match however, saw Fiji break the record for the number of yellow cards given out to one team in a single test match at 5.
In January 2014 the International Rugby Board, (IRB), suspended funding to the Fiji Rugby Union after a failure to address concerns over administration and governance with immediate effect. With the lack of money that the FRU has, the cash-strapped union sacked Inoke Male on 27 January 2014, 1 year early of his contract.[3] This meant his win rate with Fiji was 50%, coached 16 won 8 lost 8.
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sam Domoni |
Fiji National Rugby Union Coach 2012–2014 |
Succeeded by John McKee |