Manasa Qoro (8 February 1964 – 5 February 2019), was a Fijian rugby union player. He played as a flanker.

Career

He started his career for the

Nawaka Rugby Club Nawaka Rugby Club is a rugby club from the town of Nadi, Fiji. The Nawaka Club has played at major European Sevens tournaments including those at Lisbon, Cascais and Madrid. They won the Melrose Sevens in 2000. See also *Rugby Union in Fiji *Fij ...

before being named in the Nadi team in 1984. Three years later he made his debut in the

Fiji Sevens The Fiji Sevens, also known as the Suva Sevens is an international rugby union sevens tournament held at the National Stadium in Suva, Fiji. It was a part of the Sevens World Series in 2000, but in the wake of the Fijian coup d'état later that ...

team before being selected for the Fijian side to the 1987 Rugby World Cup in

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 ...

. Qoro made his debut for the Flying Fijians against

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

in April 1987 before being selected for the Rugby World Cup in May. His memorable moment was when he scored a drop goal from more than 40 metres in the 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 ...

, becoming the first forward in world rugby to score points from a drop goal in a world cup match. His contribution enabled his team to become the first Flying Fijians outfit to reach the world cup quarter-final long before the

Ilivasi Tabua Ilivasi Sevia Tabua Tamanivalu (born 30 September 1964 in Naivicula) is a Fijian former rugby union footballer who played at international level for both Fiji and Australia as a flanker. He was nicknamed The Human Skewer. He also coached Fiji ...

-coached side repeated the feat in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

. His last international match for the Flying Fijians was during the match against

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

, at Liège, on 7 October 1989. In that year, Qoro moved to

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

to play for

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

until 1991, where he played for

Colombo Hockey and Football Club Colombo Hockey and Football Club (also known as CH & FC) is a Division 'A' rugby union team based in Colombo, Sri Lanka that competes in the Dialog Rugby League in Sri Lanka. History The Colombo Football Club was established in 1879, playing t ...

until 1994. He died on 5 February 2019, aged 54.

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Qoro, Manasa 1964 births 2019 deaths Fijian rugby union players Rugby union players from Nadi Fiji international rugby union players Rugby union flankers Fijian expatriate sportspeople in Sri Lanka I-Taukei Fijian people 1987 Rugby World Cup players