Nigel Vagana

Nigel Vagana
Vagana in 2008
Personal information
Full name Nigel Faletoese Vagana
Nickname Pablo,[1] Chiko[2]
Born 7 February 1975 (1975-02-07) (age 37)
Auckland, New Zealand
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight 13 st 9 lbs (87 kg)
Playing information
Position Centre, Five-eighth
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1996 Auckland Warriors 1 0 0 0 0
1997 Warrington Wolves 20 17 0 0 68
1998–2000 Auckland Warriors 70 37 0 0 148
2001–2003 Bulldogs 76 61 0 0 244
2004–2006 Cronulla-Sutherland 61 32 0 0 128
2007–2008 South Sydney 32 10 0 0 40
Total 260 157 0 0 628
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1995–2008 Samoa 2 2 0 0 8
1998–2006 New Zealand 38 19 0 0 76
As of 00:18, 11 September 2008 (UTC)

Nigel Vagana (born 7 February 1975 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a retired professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. A New Zealand and Samoa international representative centre, he retired as the Kiwis' all-time top try-scorer with 19. Vagana played club football in New Zealand for the Warriors, in England for Warrington and in Australia for the Bulldogs, Cronulla-Sutherland and finally South Sydney.

Vagana is also the cousin of Bradford Bulls prop-forward Joe Vagana and former Silver Ferns netball player Linda Vagana.

In April 2002, Vagana became the first Bulldogs player since 1942 to score five tries in a match.[3] That season he was the League's top try-scorer.

He signed a two year contract with NRL club South Sydney, starting in 2007, expiring at the end of 2008.

Vagana had represented the New Zealand national team on thirty-two separate occasions between 1998 and 2006, including playing in the 2000 World Cup when he announced his retirement from international rugby league following the 2006 Tri Nations series. However he was named in the Samoa squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.[4] and captained the side in the tournament, scoring a memorable, length-of-the-field try against Tonga.

Following his retirement from the playing field, Vagana became a National Rugby League education and welfare officer.[5]

References

  1. ^ "Nigel Vagana player profile". Bulldogs (official website). http://www.bulldogs.com.au/main.php?page=player&id=642. Retrieved 2007-05-31. 
  2. ^ "Nigel Vagana player profile". South Sydney Rabbitohs (official website). http://www.souths.com.au/my_team/player.asp?PlayerID=2533. Retrieved 2007-05-31. 
  3. ^ Steve Mascord and Brad Walter (2002-04-06). "One-man band Vagana puts on a five-star performance". The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia: Fairfax Media). http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/04/05/1017206265015.html. Retrieved 2010-07-28. 
  4. ^ "Samoa, Tonga and Fiji name squads". BBC. 2008-10-08. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/7658506.stm. Retrieved 2008-10-09. 
  5. ^ Dekker, Diana (2010-07-10). "In a league of their own". The Dominion Post (New Zealand: Fairfax New Zealand Limited). http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/3904828/In-a-league-of-their-own. Retrieved 2010-07-28. 

External links