| Personal information | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Mila Poching[1] | |||||
| Born | 30 August 1973 | |||||
| Height | 182 cm (6 ft 0 in) | |||||
| Weight | 103 kg (16 st 3 lb) | |||||
| Playing information | ||||||
| Position | Second-row | |||||
| Club | ||||||
| Years | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
| Marist Saints | ||||||
| Mt Albert Lions | ||||||
| 1993 | Northcote Tigers | |||||
| 1995 | Auckland Warriors | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 1996 | North Queensland | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 1997 | Hunter Mariners | 13 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 14 |
| 1998 | St George Dragons | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 1999–2001 | Wakefield Trinity | 69 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 80 |
| 2002–2006 | Leeds Rhinos | 132 | 45 | 0 | 0 | 180 |
| Total | 236 | 70 | 3 | 0 | 286 | |
| Representative | ||||||
| Years | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
| 1992–1993 | Auckland | 4 | ||||
| 1994–2000 | Samoa | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 2005 | New Zealand | 1 | ||||
| Coaching information | ||||||
| Representative | ||||||
| Years | Team | Gms | W | D | L | W% |
| 2009– | Samoa | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Source: Rugby League Project | ||||||
Willie Poching is a New Zealand professional rugby league football coach and former player. He is the current coach of Samoa national team and assistant coach of English Super League club Warrington Wolves. A former New Zealand and Samoa international representative forward, he spent his career playing for clubs in New Zealand, Australia and finally England, winning the Super League championship with Leeds in 2004.
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Poching played for the Northcote Tigers, Marist Saints and Mt Albert Lions in the Auckland Rugby League competition.[2] He made the Junior Kiwis in 1991 and captained the side in 1992. He played in 4 games for Auckland between 1992 and 1993, before signing a junior contract with the Brisbane Broncos for 1994. During that year he toured New Zealand with Western Samoa and captained them in a game against a Manawatu XIII.[3]
He joined the Auckland Warriors in 1995, however he only played two games for the club however and was not re-signed for the 1996 season.
Over his long career Poching played for Wakefield Trinity Wildcats and was a huge crowd favourite and was club captain for his final season. He the joined the Leeds Rhinos in the European Super League.
Poching represented the Junior Kiwis in 1991 and 1992, captaining the side in 1992.
Poching played for Western Samoa at the 1995 World Cup and also captained Samoa during their 2000 World Cup.
He played his single game for New Zealand against England at Halliwell Jones Stadium during the 2005 Tri-Nations campaign.
Poching was forced to retire due to injury at the completion of 2006 season. He is currently the academy coach at Leeds Rhinos as well as the head coach of Samoa.[4] He moved from Leeds to Warrington in the 2010 post season.
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