Joeli Vidiri
| Full name | Joeli Vidiri | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | November 23, 1973 | ||
| Place of birth |  Fiji | ||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Weight | 100 kg (15 st 10 lb) | ||
| Rugby union career | |||
| Playing career | |||
| Position | Wing | ||
| Provincial/State sides | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 1994-2000 2001 |
 Counties Auckland |
71 2 |
(280) (0) |
| Super Rugby | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 1996–2001 | Blues |
61 | (215) |
| National team(s) | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 1998 1994-95 |
New Zealand Fiji |
2 11 |
(5) (25) |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Competitor for New Zealand
| ||
| Men's Rugby | ||
| Commonwealth Games | ||
| Gold | 1998 Kuala Lumpur | Rugby 7's |
Joeli Vidiri (born 23 November 1973 in Nausori Village,in the highlands of Nadi,Province of Nadroga/Navosa, Fiji) is a retired Fijian rugby union footballer who also played for the All Blacks. He played as a wing.
Career
Vidiri studied at Queen Victoria School (Fiji). He represented Fiji in both 15s and sevens before coming to New Zealand in 1994. He played for the Auckland Blues in the Super 12 competition and represented Counties Manukau in the NPC. He only managed to play two tests for New Zealand before he was diagnosed with a kidney illness and placed on dialysis treatment like his fellow Auckland Blues winger Jonah Lomu.
Vidiri played in the Super 12 for the Auckland Blues from 1996 until 2001, where he scored 43 tries in 61 games, at the time an individual record.[1] In 2000 Joeli created the record for most tries scored in one match scoring 4 against the Bulls, a record which has since been equalled but not yet broken. He had a song named after him (Give Me Hope Joeli) that was very popular with the Auckland Blues fans at home games at Eden Park. He appeared in only five Super 12 matches in 2001, with his illness impacting on his ability to play. In 2000 Vidiri played for the Barbarian F.C. against Leicester Tigers. Vidiri made 71 provincial appearances for Counties, for whom Vidiri scored 56 tries. After two early matches with Auckland in the 2001 NPC, he ended his career.
Post career
After his career was cut short, it was revealed that Vidiri had been waiting on a transplant for over a decade (accurate to 2013), and on the 8 April 2013 episode of Campbell Live, it had been revealed he was talked out of a kidney transplant in 2008, and had taken himself out of the waiting list due to his mother's skepticism and traditional views against transplants and surgery. He currently live and works at Pukekohe[2]
External links
References
- ↑ "All Time Super Rugby Records - Super14.com". Sports Digital Media.com. 2008-02-20. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
- ↑ Joeli Vidiri on backing out of kidney transplant