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[edit] tana umaga edit
| Tana Umaga | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||
| Full name | Jonathan Falefasa Umaga | ||
| Date of birth | 1973-05-27 | ||
| Place of birth | Lower Hutt, New Zealand | ||
| Height | 1.88 m | ||
| Weight | 102 kg | ||
| Nickname | T | ||
| Rugby union career | |||
| Position | Centre, Wing | ||
| Amateur clubs | |||
| 1992- | Petone | ||
| correct as of 2006-2-06. | |||
| Professional clubs | Caps | (points) | |
| 2006-2007 | RC Toulonnais | 7 | (10) |
| correct as of 8 February 2007. | |||
| Provincial/State sides | |||
| 1994- | Wellington | 84 | (260) |
| correct as of 2007-02-06. | |||
| Super Rugby | |||
| 1996- | Hurricanes | 115 | (245) |
| correct as of 2007-03-13. | |||
| National team(s) | |||
| 1997 1999-2005 |
All Blacks | 79 | (185) |
| correct as of 2007-02-06. | |||
| Other Information | |||
| School attended | Parkway College (now Wainuiomata High School) | ||
Jonathan Falefasa "Tana" Umaga, ONZM, (IPA: [tɑːnə 'uːmʌŋə], born May 27, 1973 in Lower Hutt, New Zealand) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer and former captain of the national team, the All Blacks. He has played for the Hurricanes since the Super 12's inception in 1996 and took over the captaincy in 2003. Graham Henry named him as All Blacks captain in 2004; under his leadership the All Blacks won 19 of their 21 games including the clean sweep of the British & Irish Lions and the Grand Slam in 2005. At the end of 2005, after 74 Test caps (where he scored 36 tries), Umaga retired from international rugby.[1] Umaga continues to play for Wellington and the Hurricanes, and his international retirement allowed him to play for Toulon during the New Zealand off-season.
[edit] History
[edit] Early life
Tana Umaga was born in Lower Hutt to Samoan immigrant parents, and grew up playing Rugby League (commonly referred to in New Zealand as League).[2] In League he rose through the ranks by making the Wellington U-16 and U-17 sides, and was eventually named in the Junior Kiwi side of 1991.[3][4] That same year he signed with the Newcastle Knights but within three weeks was back on the plane to New Zealand because of homesickness.[5] In 1993 Tana's brother Mike, who played rugby union for Manu Samoa, persuaded him to take up rugby union. The brothers met in a Test match in 1999 during which Tana Umaga scored two tries (the All Blacks won 71-13).[1]
[edit] Emerging talent: 1994 to 1999
Tana Umaga began playing for the Wellington Lions in 1994 and quickly became a fixture in the starting lineup alongside his brother who also played wing. With his natural pace, Tana managed to outscore any other player within the team for three successive years,[6] and in 1996 made the cut for the original Hurricanes squad. His great form was beginning to threaten incumbent All Black wingers Jonah Lomu and Jeff Wilson.
Tana's second year in the Hurricanes jumper was to be his best yet, he scored a New Zealand record 12 tries[7] (now broken by Rico Gear)[8] and earned his first call up to the national team at the expense of Jonah Lomu who had fallen ill. It was an honour he had been striving to achieve.
Despite scoring a try, Umaga's debut would not be remembered for his heroics and the beginning of an era, but the loss of one of New Zealand rugby's greatest ever players, Michael Jones.
With the arrival of Jonah Lomu back on the All Black scene, coupled with a loss of confidence and subsequently a drop in form, Umaga would not pull on the "jersey" again until the '99 season. A year dreaded by All Black fans. Regular outside-backs Lomu, Wilson and Cullen were blocking Tana's reentry into the starting lineup, so 1996-99 All Black coach John Hart devised a way in which all the players could turn out in one game; by moving pivotal Fullback Christian Cullen into the midfield. It would turn out to be a dreadful decision by the All Black management and is considered, along with the selection of Byron Kelleher over Justin Marshall in the semi-final, the main reason for the downfall of the team at the gut-wrenching 1999 Rugby World Cup.[9][10]
[edit] All Black redemption: 2000 and 2001
With a confident new coach in Wayne Smith, the All Blacks of the new millenium wanted to forget their World cup woes and reclaim the pride that was once instilled in the black jersey. Tana Umaga was one of several players wishing to make a step up in their careers, his goal was to become the regular centre in the All Black lineup. Worries about the shape of the team were swept aside when the team absolutely smashed Tonga 102-0, in a game where debutantes Troy Flavell and Doug Howlett starred.
The first Bledisloe Cup match in 2000 would go down as arguably the greatest game of all time, indeed it was dubbed "the game played in heaven".[11] He signed a new four year contract with the NZRU, and when Alama Ieremia took up a contract in Japan Tana Umaga decided to shift his focus to centre, despite scoring 9 tries in just 7 tests on the wing that year.[11]
Having only played one match at there for the Hurricanes it was a gamble for the All Black coaches to slot Tana into the midfield against France, the team that thumped the All Blacks in the semi-final of the World cup the year previous. Their faith in his performing was rewarded as Umaga played strongly in a victory that reclaimed a little pride in the team after the devastating loss the year prior.
The 2000 season would go down as one of Umaga's best; he became part of the Super 12's most potent outside backs core along with Hurricanes teammates Jonah Lomu and Christian Cullen, following through his great form to the Autumn internationals and finally making the successful transition to the coveted All Black centre role. To top it all off Umaga was awarded the Kelvin Tremain Memorial Trophy, for New Zealand rugby player of the year.
While the Smith era introduced a number of new players into the New Zealand team, they could not reclaim the Tri-Nations or Bledisloe Cup in either 2000 or 2001 against an Australian team coming off the back of a great decade in which they secured two World Cup titles. This inability to do so led to his sacking and the hiring of former All Black mid-week player and successful Chiefs coach John Mitchell.
[edit] Uneasy times: 2002 and 2003
The move closer to the scrum wasn't to everyone's liking, several well-known figures in New Zealand rugby went public with their dislike of the decision.[12] They pointed to his move closer to the scrum as evidence of his loss of pace. Despite these claims Umaga steadily put in good performances, this led to his first leadership role, as captain of the Wellington Lions, he took another step up when named vice-captain under Anton Oliver in John Mitchell's first squad.[13]
Including Tana Umaga into any All Black teams of the past had never been an issue, he was simply too good to pass up. John Mitchell had other ideas, he and assistant coach Robbie Deans favoured Crusader Mark Robinson in the midfield and they made no secrets about it. The squad to play against Italy and Ireland as well as compete in the Tri-Nations did not feature Umaga's name. And despite news reports about him carrying a knee injury, on the day when the All Blacks were to take on Italy, Umaga played for his club Petone[14] indicating he was fit enough to play.
His omission from the squad shocked the nation and just to rub salt into the wound Umaga, along with Taine Randell the All Blacks 1999 world cup captain, another player dropped from the team were told to play for a New Zealand Barbarians outfit against the New Zealand Maori. Randell himself was Maori and did not wish to play against them, and Umaga was told to play on the wing a position he had stated he clearly didn't want to play again.[15] Tana played well enough to receive a call-up to the national team to play Fiji, but injured his knee mid game. Tana told the coaches he was fit for selection for the Blediloe match tie against Australia but was again snubbed, Daryl Gibson taking the spot on the bench. Umaga again turned out for Petone.
Umaga came off the bench against South Africa to rousing applause at his home ground Westpac Stadium. Tana would go on to make the Tri-Nations XV; a team based on Zurich world player rankings[16] and was considered a good choice by many to take over the captaincy on the end of year tour because regular captain Reuben Thorne had sustained a season ending injury. It was not to be, Taine Randell was chosen instead.[17]
New Hurricanes coach Colin Cooper saw Umaga's natural leadership skills and called on him to lead the team into the future.[18] The Hurricanes team of 2003 finally shed the inconsistent tag that had plagued them since the tournaments inception.[19] They made the semi-finals for just the second time in their history after winning a franchise record seven times in a row,[20] all riding on the back of the leadership Tana Umaga provided.
Tana Umaga is well respected for his sportsmanship. In a test match against Wales on June 21, 2003, Welsh captain Colin Charvis was knocked out in a tackle from All Blacks forward Jerry Collins. Umaga stopped playing despite his team being in an attacking position; to check that Charvis had not swallowed his mouthguard, and placed him in the recovery position. For this act, the Council of the International Fair Play Committee awarded Umaga the International Pierre de Coubertin Trophy, an award for outstanding sportsmanship (named for Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games),[21] the first New Zealander ever to receive the prestigious award.[22] The Welsh Rugby Union also presented him with a figurine to honour the display of sportsmanship.
With the All Blacks inspiring play against the Australians and the South Africans in the Tri-Nations they were quickly tagged as a favourite for the years' World Cup alongside eventual victors England.
Umaga missed virtually the entire 2003 Rugby World Cup after being injured in a freak collision with teammate Carlos Spencer in the opening match against Italy. He suffered a damaged posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, and was forced to leave the field, not returning for the remainder of the tournament, which saw the All Blacks eliminated in the semi-finals by the Wallabies.
[edit] All Black captain: 2004 and 2005
However, his next outing for the All Blacks was as their captain, after he was selected to replace Reuben Thorne, becoming the first New Zealander of Polynesian heritage to captain the All Blacks. Umaga's captaincy began well, with victory in the first six tests, including two against World Cup holders England (a 36-3 win in Dunedin was at that time the heaviest loss ever by a World Cup holding team), and a successful defence of the Bledisloe Cup. Unfortunately, these victories were followed by losses in away games against Australia and South Africa, putting the All Blacks out of contention for the 2004 Tri Nations Series.
Umaga's reputation for sportsmanship was questioned by Lions supporters because of an incident in the first Test of the Lions tour to New Zealand on June 25, 2005. In the first minute of the Test, Umaga, along with hooker Keven Mealamu, combined to upend Lions captain Brian O'Driscoll in a controversial post-ruck clean-out. The clean-out resulted in O'Driscoll dislocating his shoulder, necessitating surgery and causing him to miss the rest of the tour. The British and Irish media accused Umaga of foul play, largely disregarding Mealamu, who had initiated the clean-out; O'Driscoll and Lions management characterized the incident as a "deliberate spear tackle".[23] The independent citing commissioner found that neither Umaga nor Mealamu had a case to answer at the time due to inconclusive evidence,[24] but after viewing new amateur footage of the incident, Greg Thomas, communications manager for the sport's governing body, the International Rugby Board (IRB), described the tackle as "unacceptably dangerous" and stated that IRB was instructing referees to suspend players for three to six months for such offenses.[25]
After the controversy, Umaga's reputation was reinforced by his exceptional play during the remainder of the Lions tour and New Zealand's triumphant 2005 Tri-Nations campaign, which included retention of the Bledisloe Cup. The IRB was so impressed that they shortlisted him for their 2005 International Player of the Year award (an honour eventually won by fellow All Black Dan Carter). European commentators have often compared Umaga to the captain of England's world cup winning team, Martin Johnson. In a 2006 RUPA survey, Australian Super 14 players named Umaga as their most respected opponent.[26]
Umaga led the All Blacks to only their second ever Northern Hemisphere Grand Slam (victories away against England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales). After playing 79 matches for the All Blacks, including 74 Tests (21 of those as captain) Tana Umaga confirmed his retirement from international rugby at a press conference on January 10, 2006. His main reason for retiring was to spend more time with his family. Umaga continues to play rugby for the Hurricanes in the Super 14 and Wellington in the revamped Air New Zealand Cup. He was reported to be on the wish lists of many top European clubs; his former All Blacks teammate Andrew Mehrtens was forced to publicly deny rumours that Umaga was on the wish list of Mehrtens' current English club, Harlequins.[27]
[edit] Future
toulon, hurricanes and wellington. future retirement.
--maybe merge these two???--
[edit] Legacy
[edit] needs a section on his transgressions
drunkenness, "the tackle" etc...
[edit] References
- ^ a b Tana Umaga. allblacks.com. Retrieved on February 6, 2007.
- ^ Ferguson, David. "Umaga goes out on a high", scotsman.com, 2006-01-11. Retrieved on March 7, 2007.
- ^ The side also featured future National Rugby League stars Joe Vagana, Ruben Wiki and Gene Ngamu.
- ^ Matheson (2006), pg 14.
- ^ Matheson (2006), pg 13.
- ^ Matheson (2006), pg. 14.
- ^ Matheson (2006), pg 17.
- ^ One to Watch: Rico Gear. timesonline. Retrieved on February 6, 2007.
- ^ Matheson (2006), pg 27.
- ^ Matheson (2006), pg 28.
- ^ a b Matheson (2006), pg 41.
- ^ Matheson (2006), pg 45.
- ^ Matheson (2006), pg 56.
- ^ Matheson (2006), pg 65.
- ^ Matheson (2006), pg 66.
- ^ Matheson (2006), pg 71.
- ^ Taine Randell. allblacks.com. Retrieved on February 7, 2007.
- ^ Matheson (2006), pg 74.
- ^ Hurricanes ride high in rankings. thefanatics.com. Retrieved on December 21, 2007.
- ^ Matheson (2006), pg 78.
- ^ Sport prizes awarded by UNESCO. portal.unesco.org. Retrieved on March 12, 2007.
- ^ Umaga out to tame Lions. lionsrugby.com. Retrieved on March 13, 2007.
- ^ Henry defends duo over O'Driscoll. BBC Sport (28 June, 2005). Retrieved on November 14, 2006.
- ^ Orlovac, Mark and Jim Stokes (25 October 2005). No action on new O'Driscoll video. BBC Sport. Retrieved on November 14, 2006.
- ^ "NZ want O'Driscoll injury laid to rest", Independent Online, October 26 2005. Retrieved on April 1, 2006.
- ^ "Bok Barry is the 'dirtiest player'", RugbyRugby, 2006-02-15. Retrieved on April 1, 2006.
- ^ "Mehrtens to take on S African citizenship", The Sunday Star-Times, 2006-01-08. Retrieved on April 6, 2006.
[edit] Bibliography
- Matheson, John (2006). Tana Umaga - A Tribute to a Rugby Legend. Celebrity Books. ISBN 1-877252-29-8.
[edit] External links
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| Forwards: | Braid • Collins • Flynn • Hammett • Hewett • Hoeft • Holah • Jack • McCaw • Mealamu • Meeuws • Somerville • So'oialo • Thorn • Thorne (c) • Williams |  |
| Backs: | Blair • Carter • Devine • Howlett • Kelleher • MacDonald • Marshall • Mauger • Muliaina • Nonu • Ralph • Rokocoko • Spencer • Umaga | |
| Coach: | Mitchell | |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Umaga, Ionatana Falefasa |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Umaga, Tana |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | New Zealand rugby union footballer, former All Blacks captain |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 27, 1973 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Lower Hutt, New Zealand |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
Born in Lower Hutt to Samoan immigrant parents, Tana Umaga was originally a rugby league player (and an Under 19's New Zealand representative in that sport for two years). In 1992 aged 18 he had trials with NRL side Newcastle Knights but returned to New Zealand because of homesickness. He switched to union after being persuaded by his elder brother Mike, a Samoan rugby union international. The brothers met in one test match, in 1999—the All Blacks won 71-13, with Tana scoring two tries.
He first played for Wellington in the NPC in 1994 (and was captain of the Hurricanes between 2001-2005), has played for the Hurricanes in Super Rugby since the tournament's inception in 1996 (captaining them in the 2003-05 seasons), and was first picked for the All Blacks in 1997. Long established as a winger, he moved to playing as an outside centre at the end of 2000 and inside centre in 2002. Critics . He is acknowledged as one of the hardest tacklers in the game.
Umaga is also respected for his sportsmanship. In a test match against Wales on June 21, 2003, Welsh captain Colin Charvis was knocked out by a tackle from All Blacks forward Jerry Collins, and Umaga stopped playing (despite his team being in an attacking position) to check that Charvis had not swallowed his mouthguard, and place him in the recovery position. For this act, the International Committee for Fair Play awarded Umaga the Pierre de Coubertin Trophy, an award for outstanding sportsmanship (named for Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games). The Welsh Rugby Union also presented him with a figurine to honour this display of sportsmanship.
"When I got knocked out Tana was brilliant - I was unconscious but he rolled me over and ensured I didn't swallow my gum-shield," Charvis said.
Umaga missed virtually the entire 2003 Rugby World Cup after being injured in a freak collision with teammate Carlos Spencer in the opening match against Italy. He suffered a damaged posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, and was forced to leave the field, not returning for the remainder of the tournament, which saw the All Blacks eliminated in the semi-finals by the Wallabies.
However, his next outing for the All Blacks was as their captain, after he was selected to replace Reuben Thorne, becoming the first New Zealander of Polynesian heritage to captain the All Blacks. Umaga's captaincy began well, with victory in the first six tests, including two against World Cup holders England (a 36-3 win in Dunedin was at that time the heaviest loss ever by a World Cup holding team), and a successful defence of the Bledisloe Cup. Unfortunately, these victories were followed by losses in away games against Australia and South Africa, putting the All Blacks out of contention for the 2004 Tri Nations Series.
Umaga's reputation for sportsmanship was questioned by Lions supporters because of an incident in the first Test of the Lions tour to New Zealand on June 25, 2005. In the first minute of the Test, Umaga, along with hooker Keven Mealamu, combined to upend Lions captain Brian O'Driscoll in a controversial post-ruck clean-out. The clean-out resulted in O'Driscoll dislocating his shoulder, necessitating surgery and causing him to miss the rest of the tour. The British and Irish media accused Umaga of foul play, largely disregarding Mealamu, who had initiated the clean-out; O'Driscoll and Lions management characterized the incident as a "deliberate spear tackle".[28] The independent citing commissioner found that neither Umaga nor Mealamu had a case to answer at the time due to inconclusive evidence,[29] but after viewing new amateur footage of the incident, Greg Thomas, communications manager for the sport's governing body, the International Rugby Board (IRB), described the tackle as "unacceptably dangerous" and stated that IRB was instructing referees to suspend players for three to six months for such offenses.[30]
After the controversy, Umaga's reputation was reinforced by his exceptional play during the remainder of the Lions tour and New Zealand's triumphant 2005 Tri-Nations campaign, which included retention of the Bledisloe Cup. The IRB was so impressed that they shortlisted him for their 2005 International Player of the Year award (an honour eventually won by fellow All Black Dan Carter). European commentators have often compared Umaga to the captain of England's world cup winning team, Martin Johnson. In a 2006 RUPA survey, Australian Super 14 players named Umaga as their most respected opponent.[31]
Umaga led the All Blacks to only their second ever Northern Hemisphere Grand Slam (victories away against England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales). After playing 79 matches for the All Blacks, including 74 Tests (21 of those as captain) Tana Umaga confirmed his retirement from international rugby at a press conference on January 10, 2006. His main reason for retiring was to spend more time with his family. Umaga continues to play rugby for the Hurricanes in the Super 14 and Wellington in the revamped Air New Zealand Cup. He was reported to be on the wish lists of many top European clubs; his former All Blacks teammate Andrew Mehrtens was forced to publicly deny rumours that Umaga was on the wish list of Mehrtens' current English club, Harlequins.[32]
He would eventually sign for a European club, but surprisingly for Toulon, a club newly relegated from France's top level, although it is a three-time French champion. His contract allowed him to play the entire 2006 Air New Zealand Cup season for Wellington before arriving in France, which means he was originally scheduled to play only eight matches in that country, since Wellington made it to the final —but nonetheless will make roughly €350,000 (USD 438,000/GBP 250,000). Toulon's co-presidents reportedly paid for his salary out of their own pockets.[33] On October 29, 2006, Umaga started in his first game three days after arriving in Toulon and lifted his team to a 22-16 victory against Lyon, scoring his team's only (and decisive) try. He commented after the match how the crowd had been fantastic. He was also surprised to see how close to the players the fans were and how... noisy the atmosphere was. [34]
The day before, he had been awarded the medal of honour of the city of Toulon (médaille d'or de la ville) by Mayor Hubert Falco.
Umaga returned to New Zealand at the end of his contract with Toulon following their January 7, 2007 win over Grenoble. When he came to Toulon, they were ninth in the Rugby Pro D2 table; when he left, they had risen to third, one spot behind the promotion places. Toulon won eight of nine matches with Umaga on the roster, with the only loss coming when he was out injured.[35]
After the 2006 Super 14 Final, in which his team, the Hurricanes, lost to the Crusaders, Umaga was seen hitting team mate Chris Masoe with a woman's handbag, in what was latter dubbed by the media as the handbag incident. Umaga was made to replace the woman's cell phone, which he broke.
In the 2006 Queen's Birthday Honours Umaga was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in recognition of his dedicated service to rugby.[36]
