To’o Vaega

To'o Vaega
Date of birth (1965-08-17) 17 August 1965
Place of birth Moto'otua, Samoa
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight 90 kg (14 st 2 lb)
Notable relative(s) Cardiff Vaega (son)
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position Centre
Provincial/State sides
Years Club / team Caps (points)
1995-1997 Southland
Super Rugby
Years Club / team Caps (points)
1996–97
2000
Highlanders
Blues
13
1
(20)
(0)
National team(s)
Years Club / team Caps (points)
1986-2001  Samoa 61 (71)

To'o Vaega (born 17 August 1965 in Moto'otua, Samoa) is a retired professional rugby union footballer, best known for his long career with the Samoan national team.

Career

Vaega made his debut for Samoa against Wales on 14 June 1986, starting one of the longest international careers in modern rugby union history. By the time of his final cap against Ireland on 11 November 2001, he had represented his country 61 times in a 15-year period.

Vaega starred for Samoa in three World Cups, but is most remembered for scoring a critical try in Samoa's historic 16-13 victory over Wales in Cardiff during the 1991 Rugby World Cup.

Outside of his duties with the Samoan national team, Vaega enjoyed a long club career in New Zealand, most notably with Southland and the Highlanders in the mid-1990s. He was an original Highlander in the first Super 12 campaign in 1996, and set a franchise record with three tries in a match that year against Western Province, a record he shares to this day.

Vaega's son Cardiff Vaega, named for the site of Samoa's victory over Wales in 1991,[1] is currently playing for Southland in the ITM Cup competition.

References

  1. Egan, Brendon (4 March 2011). "Name celebrates Samoa's first World Cup win". The Southland Times. Retrieved 23 November 2011.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/1/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.