Lolani Koko
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 2 October 1963 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 18 June 2024 (aged 60) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 191 cm (6 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 100 kg (15 st 10 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Centre | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rugby league | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Wing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Lolani Koko was a Samoan rugby union and rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played representative rugby union for Samoa and representative rugby league for Western Samoa, including at the 1995 Rugby League World Cup.
Rugby union career
[edit]Koko played for the Samoa national rugby union team, making his debut in 1983. He moved to New Zealand in the early 1990s, playing for Wellington. He was invited to trial for the All Blacks but decided to stick with his native Samoa.[4] Koko scored 11 tries for Wellington in the 1992 NPC season.[5] He was named the Man of Honour at the 1993 Hong Kong Sevens.[6]
Koko also spent time with the Boroondara Rugby Club in Australia.[7]
Rugby league career
[edit]Koko switched to rugby league at the start of the 1995 season. Koko joined the Sydney City Roosters in the Australian Rugby League competition and led the Western Samoa team at the 1995 World Sevens Koko also had a stint with the Narrandera Lizards in Group 20 Rugby League.[6]
He was part of the Western Samoa squad at the 1995 World Cup.
Personal life
[edit]Koko's brother Kofe Koko also represented Samoa in rugby union and his nephew Ali Koko also represented both Samoa and Wellington in rugby union.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ TMO Marist 7s Flag Tournament - last hurrah
- ^ "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ scrum.com
- ^ Fiji lose sevens' title to Samoans The Independent, 29 March 1993
- ^ Season-by-season Record - 1992 Wellington Rugby Football Union
- ^ a b Samoan's Ko-Kolossal pedigree Sydney Morning Herald, 3 February 1995
- ^ Boroondara giving it a try Archived 2011-02-20 at the Wayback Machine Progress Leader, 13 July 2010
- ^ Season 2007/08 - Aliinu'u (Ali) Koko - Wing Cornish Pirates
External links
[edit]- 2024 deaths
- Samoan rugby league players
- Samoa national rugby league team players
- Samoan rugby union players
- Samoan expatriate rugby union players in New Zealand
- Samoa international rugby sevens players
- Dual-code rugby internationals
- Rugby league wingers
- 1963 births
- Samoa international rugby union players
- Wellington rugby union players
- Rugby union centres