Gene Robert Ngamu (born 27 January 1974) is a New Zealand former

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer. He played mainly as a or , and is probably best known for his combination with

Stacey Jones Stacey William Jones (born 7 May 1976) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer, who has been named amongst the greatest New Zealand has ever produced. He is currently the head coach of New Zealand national rugby league te ...

at the

Auckland Warriors The Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as the Aucklan ...

and the Kiwis.

Early years

Ngamu started his career at the

Marist Saints The Marist Saints is a rugby league club based in Mount Albert, New Zealand. They currently compete in the top grade in Auckland Rugby League, the Fox Memorial Premiership. History Founded in 1919, the Marist club first won the Fox Memorial in 1 ...

and Northcote Tigers in the

Auckland Rugby League The Auckland Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. Founded in 1909, the ARL has played a pivotal role in the development and promotion of rugby league in Auckland and beyond. ...

competition. He joined the Tigers in the 1992 pre-season while on a scholarship with the

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL). The Manly club debuted in the 1947 New South Wales Rugby Football League sea ...

, however was called to Sydney full-time before the season began.Lion Red Rugby League Annual 1992 ''New Zealand Rugby League'', 1992. p.p.131-143

Australian competition

In 1992, he moved to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, signing with the

on a two-year deal. He made the

Junior Kiwis The Junior Kiwis side represents New Zealand in the sport of rugby league. They are commonly known as the Junior Kiwis, after the native bird of that name. Since 2010, they are an under-20s side, with players selected from the NRL, Intrust Sup ...

in 1992. In 1994, he joined South Sydney but could not break into the first-grade side. He returned home in 1995 to join the new

franchise, playing in the inaugural run on side. A goalkicker, Ngamu holds the record for Most Points in a Match for the Auckland Warriors, a feat only equaled by Ivan Cleary and James Maloney. He stayed with the Warriors until the 1999 season, when he left for England. Ngamu was selected for the New Zealand team to compete in the end of season

1999 Rugby League Tri-Nations The 1999 Rugby League Tri-Nations series was contested by Australia, Great Britain and New Zealand in 1999. It was the first multi-national rugby league tournament to feature the sport's three world powers since the 1989–1992 Rugby League Wor ...

tournament. In the final against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

he played from the interchange bench in the Kiwis' 22-20 loss.

England

Ngamu had an unhappy two seasons with the Huddersfield-Sheffield joint franchise before leaving England.Coffey and Wood ''The Kiwis: 100 Years of International Rugby League''

Representative career

Ngamu made his international début for the

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team () has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the Kiwi (bird), native bird of that name. The team' ...

in 1993, one year after his

debut. He played in two

World Cups A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

, representing the Kiwis in 1995 and the Aotearoa Māori in 2000.

Later years

Ngamu then joined a

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

club in Manly before retiring from professional football. In 2005 he played for the North Harbour Dolphins in the Phelan Shield before being called into the North Harbour Tigers team mid way through the 2005 Bartercard Cup.Ngamu gets Tigers call-up
''The Press'', 5 August 2005 Gene then retired with his wife Fiona and had a family.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ngamu, Gene 1974 births Living people 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen Auckland rugby league team players Huddersfield Giants players Junior Kiwis players Manly Warringah Sea Eagles players Marist Saints players New Zealand Māori rugby league team players New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand Warriors players North Harbour rugby league team players Northcote Tigers players Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league players from the Auckland Region South Sydney Rabbitohs players