Tana Umaga
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| Player information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ionatana Falefasa Umaga | |
| birthday | 27th May 1973 (age 47) | |
| place of birth | Lower Hutt , New Zealand | |
| Nickname | T | |
| society | ||
| society | RC Toulon | |
| position | Inner three quarters | |
| Clubs as active | ||
| Years | society | Games (points) |
| 1993 | Viadana | ? |
| 1994-2006 | Wellington | 94 (260) |
| 1996-2006 | Hurricanes (Super 14) | 91 (200) |
| 2006-2007, 2009 | RC Toulon | 9 (10) |
| National team | ||
| Years | National team | Games (points) |
| 1997-2005 | New Zealand | 79 (185) |
| Coaching stations | ||
| Years | Association / Province / Franchise | |
| 2007-2009 | RC Toulon | |
|
Status: January 20, 2007, |
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Ionatana Falefasa "Tana" Umaga [tɑːnə 'uːmʌŋə] ONZM (born May 27, 1973 in Lower Hutt in New Zealand ) is a New Zealand rugby union player and former captain of the All Blacks , for which he completed 79 international matches. He temporarily ended his playing career at RC Toulon to work there as a coach. At the beginning of 2009, however, he announced that he would be actively playing again. He will act as a player and coach until the end of the 2008/09 season, when Philippe Saint-Andre will replace him as coach in the coming season.
Player career
The son of Samoan immigrants originally played rugby league (thirteen-man rugby ) and represented his country in the U19 national team in this sport for two years. His brother Mike, a Samoan rugby union international, persuaded him to move to rugby fifteen. The two brothers faced each other once - in 1999 - in an international match that the All Blacks won 71-13. Umaga scored two attempts .
After he started his career in Italy in 1993 with Rugby Viadana , he played for the first time in 1994 for the province of Wellington in the NPC (National Provincial Championship), the highest national league in New Zealand. 2001-2005 he was captain of the province. Since the founding of the Super 12/14 in 1996, a competition of the best provinces from Australia , South Africa and New Zealand, he has played for the Wellington Hurricanes . In 1997 he made his national team debut on the outside position. He later switched to the indoor position. He is considered one of the toughest defenders in rugby.
However, he is also known for his sportsmanship. In an international match against Wales on June 21, 2003, Welsh captain Colin Charvis lost consciousness due to a tackle by New Zealander Jerry Collins . Umaga checked that Charvis did not swallow his mouthguard, despite the game being on, and brought him into the stable side position . For this exemplary behavior Umaga received the Pierre de Coubertin medal (after Pierre de Coubertin , the founder of the modern Olympic Games ). The Welsh Rugby Federation also honored him with a figure.
Umaga missed almost the entire 2003 World Cup after colliding with teammate Carlos Spencer in the first game against Italy and injuring his left posterior cruciate ligament . His next international match, however, he already played as captain after he was selected by the new coach Graham Henry as the successor to Reuben Thorne for this post. The first six games under his leadership were won, including two against world champions England . After that, however, the All Blacks lost their away games in the Tri-Nations tournament , so they finished this tournament in 2004 in last place.
An incident on the British and Irish Lions' tour to New Zealand in 2005 challenged Umaga's reputation. In the first minute of the first of three international matches between New Zealand and the Lions, Lions captain Brian O'Driscoll was thrown to the ground after an open scrum by Umaga and hacker Keven Mealamu and injured his shoulder so badly that he operated on had to be and the remaining games of the tour could no longer play. An independent jury found after the game that neither Umaga nor Mealamu would be punished, but since then a representative of the Rugby World Federation has IRB the incident as "unacceptable and dangerous" ( unacceptably dangerous ;) and apologized to O'Driscoll.
The incident faded into the background, however, as Umaga led the All Blacks to three victories over the Lions, winning the Tri Nations in 2005 and a successful Grand Slam tour in the fall.
It was against the background of these achievements that he was nominated by the IRB for the title of best rugby player in 2005 and many European commentators compared Umaga with Martin Johnson , who helped England win the 2003 World Cup as captain. In 2006, a survey of Australian Super 14 players found that they respected Umaga the most of all their opponents.
After captaining 21 international matches, Tana Umaga surprisingly announced at a press conference on January 10, 2006 that he would be retiring from the national team in order to have more time for his family. However, he continued to play for Wellington and the Hurricanes.
In June 2006 Umaga was named Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to rugby . In the same month he signed a contract with the French second division club RC Toulon .
Coaching career
Umaga led the team of the RC Toulon into the top 14 French premier league . After a bad start to the season and the risk of relegation, he reactivated himself as a player. He will leave the coaching post at the end of the season as he sees himself as too inexperienced to continue such a role.
See also
Web links
- Profile Tana Umagas on www.allblacks.com (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Reuters: Former All Blacks captain Umaga to resume playing , January 26, 2009 (English)
- ↑ Independent Online: NZ want O'Driscoll injury laid to rest , October 26, 2005 (English)
- ↑ Bok Barry is the 'dirtiest player. Retrieved December 25, 2015 .
- ↑ Queen's Birthday Honors - ONZM - Mr Jonathan Falefasa (Tana) UMAGA of Wellington . Governor General , archived from the original on February 19, 2007 ; accessed on September 16, 2014 (English, original website no longer available).
- ↑ BBC Sport Rugby Union: Umaga signs lucrative Toulon deal , June 29, 2006 (English)
- ↑ Stuff.co.nz: Shucks, that's life, says Umaga , January 29, 2009 (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Umaga, Tana |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Umaga, Ionatana Falefasa (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | New Zealand rugby union player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 27, 1973 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Lower Hutt , New Zealand |