Jump to content

Sonny Whakarau

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by DynamoDegsy (talk | contribs) at 11:00, 9 August 2018. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Sonny Whakarau
Personal information
Born (1966-01-13) 13 January 1966 (age 58)
Playing information
PositionHooker, Prop, Second-row
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
19??–85 Unknown (MRL)
1986–?? Upper Hutt
1990–91 Batley
1991–92 Bramley
1994–95 Doncaster
1995–96 Sheffield Eagles
1996 Keighley Cougars
1996–99 Wakefield Trinity (Wildcats)
Total 0 0 0 0 0
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
19??–86 Manawatu
1986–?? Wellington
1996–04 New Zealand Māori
Source: [1]

Sonny Whakarau (born 13 January 1966) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played professionally in England and represented the New Zealand Māori.

Playing career

A Manawatu representative, Whakarau moved south in 1986, joining the Wellington Rugby League and becoming a Wellington representative.

In the 1994/1995 English season Whakarau joined Doncaster and helped them win promotion to the First Division.[2] He played for the Sheffield Eagles in 1995/96 season.[3] Whakarau represented New Zealand Māori at the 1996 Pacific Cup and then played in their defeats of Papua New Guinea and Great Britain the same year.[4][5]

In 1996 he joined the Keighley Cougars.[4] Later in the season he was loaned to the Wakefield Trinity.[6] He played for the Wakefield Trinity (Wildcats) in 1998, and 1999.[7]

Whakarau then returned home and played for the Levin Knights and Manawatu. In 2000 he was appointed player-coach of the Manawatu team but handed the coaching reins over to former coach Paul Sixtus after one game.[8] He was later appointed the Manawatu Rugby League development officer, in 2001.

In 2002 the Central Falcons were admitted to the Bartercard Cup and Whakarau became a regular in the side, playing close to 50 games over the next three seasons until his retirement from representative football at the end of the 2005 season.[9]

In 2004 Whakarau played for the Levin Lions in the Western Alliance club competition.[10] Whakarau was selected for New Zealand Māori as part of the 2004 Pacific Cup squad.[11][12][13]

References

  1. ^ RLP
  2. ^ 'It was like hearing someone had died' The Independent, 1 January 1995
  3. ^ Centenary waits for the revolution The Independent, 18 August 1995
  4. ^ a b John Coffey, Bernie Wood (2008). 100 years: Māori rugby league, 1908-2008. Huia Publishers. p. 292. ISBN 9781869693312. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  5. ^ Morley given immediate chance to atone The Independent, 21 October 1996
  6. ^ Bulls in Wembley charge; Bradford 30, Wakefield 18. The Mirror, 26 February 1996
  7. ^ No regrets: Defiant Leigh back decision to move up. The Bolton News, 9 March 1998
  8. ^ Job comes first The Evening Standard, 28 February 2001
  9. ^ Whakarau calls it a day with Central Falcons The Evening Standard, 17 August 2005
  10. ^ Western Alliance First Round Review Archived 2012-09-11 at archive.today rleague.com, 11 March 2004
  11. ^ John Coffey, Bernie Wood (2008). 100 years: Māori rugby league, 1908-2008. Huia Publishers. p. 330. ISBN 9781869693312. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  12. ^ Harding, Evan. "The Northern Advocate". Peter Prime's star keeps rising. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  13. ^ Pacific Cup tourney to be Whakarau's swansong The Evening Standard, 13 October 2004
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sonny_Whakarau&oldid=854161104"