Nigel Vagana

Nigel Vagana

Vagana in 2008
Personal information
Full name	Nigel Faletoese Vagana
Nickname	Pablo,[1] Chiko[2]
Born	7 February 1975 (1975-02-07) (age 36) Auckland, New Zealand
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	13 st 9 lbs (87 kg)
Playing information
Position	Centre, Five-eighth
Club
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
1996	Auckland Warriors	1	0	0	0	0
1997	Warrington Wolves	20	17	0	0	68
1998–2000	Auckland Warriors	70	37	0	0	148
2001–2003	Bulldogs	76	61	0	0	244
2004–2006	Cronulla-Sutherland	61	32	0	0	128
2007–2008	South Sydney	32	10	0	0	40
	Total	260	157	0	0	628
Representative
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
1995–2008	Samoa	2	2	0	0	8
1998–2006	New Zealand	38	19	0	0	76
As of 00:18, 11 September 2008 (UTC)

Nigel Vagana (born 7 February 1975 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a retired professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. A New Zealand and Samoa international representative centre, he retired as the Kiwis' all-time top try-scorer with 19. Vagana played club football in New Zealand for the Warriors, in England for Warrington and in Australia for the Bulldogs, Cronulla-Sutherland and finally South Sydney.

Vagana is also the cousin of Bradford Bulls prop-forward Joe Vagana and former Silver Ferns netball player Linda Vagana.

In April 2002, Vagana became the first Bulldogs player since 1942 to score five tries in a match.^[3] That season he was the League's top try-scorer.

He signed a two year contract with NRL club South Sydney, starting in 2007, expiring at the end of 2008.

Vagana had represented the New Zealand national team on thirty-two separate occasions between 1998 and 2006, including playing in the 2000 World Cup when he announced his retirement from international rugby league following the 2006 Tri Nations series. However he was named in the Samoa squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.^[4] and captained the side in the tournament, scoring a memorable, length-of-the-field try against Tonga.

Following his retirement from the playing field, Vagana became a National Rugby League education and welfare officer.^[5]

References

1. ^ "Nigel Vagana player profile". Bulldogs (official website). http://www.bulldogs.com.au/main.php?page=player&id=642. Retrieved 2007-05-31. 
2. ^ "Nigel Vagana player profile". South Sydney Rabbitohs (official website). http://www.souths.com.au/my_team/player.asp?PlayerID=2533. Retrieved 2007-05-31. 
3. ^ Steve Mascord and Brad Walter (2002-04-06). "One-man band Vagana puts on a five-star performance". The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia: Fairfax Media). http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/04/05/1017206265015.html. Retrieved 2010-07-28. 
4. ^ "Samoa, Tonga and Fiji name squads". BBC. 2008-10-08. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/7658506.stm. Retrieved 2008-10-09. 
5. ^ Dekker, Diana (2010-07-10). "In a league of their own". The Dominion Post (New Zealand: Fairfax New Zealand Limited). http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/3904828/In-a-league-of-their-own. Retrieved 2010-07-28. 

External links

• International player profile
• Nigel Vagana Bulldogs Profile
• Nigel Vagana Souths Profile
• Richmond Rovers profile
• Scoring record
• WARRIORS PROP OPTS FOR SAMOA

Persondata
Name	Vagana, Nigel
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	7 February 1975
Place of birth	Auckland
Date of death
Place of death