Dylan Gabriel Mika (17 April 1972 – 20 March 2018) was a New Zealand-born

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

player who represented the national teams of both

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

. Born in Auckland, Mika was initially educated at Marcellin College, before moving to St Peter's College. He played mainly as a

flanker Flanker may refer to: * Flanker (perfume), a newly created perfume sharing attributes of an existing one * Flanker (rugby union), a position in rugby union (not found in rugby league) * ''Su-27 Flanker'' (video game), a 1996 computer game modelin ...

during his career. He played provincially for

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

between 1994 and 2000, and for the Blues in the

Super 12 Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

. He was drafted into the Chiefs in 1999. In 2000 he returned to the Blues before playing for Auckland in the

National Provincial Championship The National Provincial Championship may refer to: * National Provincial Championship (1976–2005), original competition before reform into 14 sides * National Provincial Championship (2006–present) The National Provincial Championship, ...

. Following that season he moved to play in Japan. He first played internationally for Samoa, playing two tests in 1994. He then stood down from international rugby for three years to enable him to play for New Zealand (the All Blacks). He played a total of seven

tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

and one non-international game for New Zealand—all in 1999. His first match was against his old side Samoa, who were also captained by his cousin,

Pat Lam Patrick Richard Lam (born 29 September 1968) is a rugby union coach and former player. He is currently Director of Rugby at Bristol Bears in England's Premiership Rugby. Born in New Zealand, he represented New Zealand in schools and under-21 ...

. He played in several of that year's Tri-Nations matches before being selected for the squad for the

1999 Rugby World Cup The 1999 Rugby World Cup was the fourth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial international rugby union championship. It was principally hosted by Wales, and was won by Australia. This was the first Rugby World Cup to be held in the sport's profess ...

. In that tournament he started only one match, against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into t ...

Retirement and death

On his retirement from rugby he returned to New Zealand. Mika, who suffered from diabetes, died from a suspected heart attack in Auckland on 20 March 2018, aged 45.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mika, Dylan 1972 births 2018 deaths People educated at St Peter's College, Auckland New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand international rugby union players Samoa international rugby union players Auckland rugby union players Blues (Super Rugby) players Rugby union flankers People educated at Marcellin College, Auckland People with diabetes