Nigel Faletoese Vagana (born 7 February 1975), also known by the

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

s of "Pablo", and "Chiko", is a former professional

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 who played in the 1990s and 2000s, as a and . A

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and Samoa international representative, he retired as the Kiwis' all-time top try-scorer with 19. Vagana played club football in New Zealand for the

Warriors A warrior is a guardian specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracy, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have been p ...

, in England for

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

, and in Australia for the

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilitated by ...

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the Sutherland Shire of Southern Sydney, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. Cronulla compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugb ...

and the

South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club, also known as the South Sydney Rabbitohs, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Maroubra, New South Wales, Maroubra that competes in the Nat ...

. Vagana represented the New Zealand national team 32 times between 1998 and 2006, including playing in the 2000 World Cup. He is also the cousin of

Bradford Bulls The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, and compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. The club have won the League Championship six times, the Challenge Cup f ...

prop-forward Joe Vagana, and former Silver Ferns netball player Linda Vagana.

Background

Of Samoan descent, Vagana was born in

Auckland, New Zealand Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

on 7 February 1975. Vagana played for the Auckland Colts at in the grand final of the 1995 Lion Red Cup, scoring a try in his side's loss.

Playing career

1990s

Vagana was selected as part of the Samoa national team for the 1995 World Cup, but did not play a game. During the 1996 Auckland Warriors season Vagana made his first Premiership appearance for the club at centre. He also was selected in the New Zealand team that competed in the Super League World Nines tournament in Fiji. The side won the title, New Zealand's first world trophy. Vagana left New Zealand to play in 1997's

Super League II Stones Bitter Super League II was the official name for the year 1997's Super League championship season, the 103rd season of top-level professional rugby league football in Britain, and the second to be played in summer. Teams Twelve teams were ...

season for English club

Warrington Wolves Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England. They play home games at the Halliwell Jones Stadium and compete in Super League, the top tier of British rugby league system, British rugby league. Warringto ...

at . The following year he returned to Auckland and resumed playing at centre for the Warriors in the newly formed

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

alongside his cousin Joe Vagana. He was selected to make his début for the New Zealand national team in the 1998 Anzac Test against Australia from the internchange bench. Vagana finished the 1998 Auckland Warriors season as the club's top try scorer. Vagana finished the 1999 Auckland Warriors season second only to Stacey Jones in total tries scored for the club. He was selected for the New Zealand team to compete in the end of season 1999 Tri-Nations 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 on the wing and scored a try in the Kiwis' 22–20 loss. He was the tournament's top try-scorer.

2000s

Vagana was selected to play for New Zealand on the wing in the 2000 Anzac Test. He finished the 2000 Auckland Warriors season as the club's top try-scorer. Vagana was then selected in the New Zealand squad for the 2000 World Cup. The Kiwis reached the final against

, and he played on the wing in the loss to the Kangaroos. Vagana commenced playing for Sydney's Canterbury-Bankstown for the

2001 NRL season The 2001 NRL season was the 94th season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the fourth run by the National Rugby League. Also called the 2001 Telstra Premiership (due to sponsorship from Telstra Corporation) it was contested ...

. At the 2001 Dally M Awards Vagana was named the NRL's centre of the year. In April 2002, Vagana became the first Canterbury player since 1942 to score five tries in a match. That season he was the League's top try-scorer. At the 2002 Dally M Awards Vagana was named the NRL's centre of the year. He was selected to go on the 2002 New Zealand rugby league tour of Great Britain and France, playing at centre. Clinton Toopi broke his hand in a scuffle with Vagana during a team drinking session after the second test. Team management initially tried to cover up the incident, claiming the injury occurred during the match, before media found out and had a field day. Vagana played in all five test matches of the tour. During the 2002 NRL season the ladder-leading Canterbury were stripped of 37 competition points and given then-record breaking fines for

salary cap In professional sports, a salary cap (or wage cap) is an agreement or rule that places a limit on the amount of money that a team can spend on players' salaries. It exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both. Seve ...

breaches, meaning they finished the season with the wooden spoon. Vagana moved to another Sydney club, the

for the 2004 NRL season. He was selected to play for New Zealand at fullback in the 2004 Anzac Test. Vagana finished the 2004 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks season at the club's top try-scorer. In the post-season 2004 Tri-Nations tournament Vagana was selected to play in the centres for

in all four of their matches. Vagana was selected play for New Zealand at centre in the 2005 Anzac Test. At the end of the season he was selected to go to Britain with the Kiwis for the 2005 Tri-Nations tournament, playing at in all matches, including the final in which they defeated Australia. Vagana was selected to play for New Zealand at in the 2006 Anzac Test. He was selected to represent New Zealand in the 2006 Tri-Nations tournament, playing at in the final which was lost to Australia. Vagana announced his retirement from international rugby league following the 2006 Tri Nations series. Vagana signed a two-year contract with NRL club South Sydney, starting in 2007, expiring at the end of 2008. At the end of the

2007 NRL season The 2007 NRL season was the one hundredth season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the tenth run by the National Rugby League. Sixteen teams contested the NRL's 2007 Telstra Premiership, and with the inclusi ...

the

2007 All Golds tour The 2007 All Golds Tour was a tour by the New Zealand national rugby league team, the Kiwis, of Great Britain and France. The Kiwis played five test matches, winning one against France national rugby league team, France, but losing the game agains ...

took place, celebrating the centenary of the

1907–08 New Zealand rugby tour of Australia and Great Britain The 1907–1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Australia and Great Britain was made by a group of New Zealand rugby footballers who played matches in Australia, Ceylon, England and Wales between 1907 and 1908. Most of the matches were played under the ...

, which saw the first games of rugby league ever played in the Southern hemisphere. Vagana came out of international retirement to play for an invitational "All Golds" side against Great Britain. The 2008 season was Vagana's last in the NRL. Although already retired, Vagana was named in the

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

squad for the post-season 2008 World Cup, and captained the side in the tournament, scoring tries in both their matches.

Honours

*2001 - Dally M Centre of the Year *2002 - Dally M Centre of the Year

Post playing

Following his retirement from the playing field, Vagana became a

education and welfare officer.

References

External links

International player profileCanterbury Bulldogs profileNigel Vagana Souths Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vagana, Nigel 1975 births Living people 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen 21st-century New Zealand sportsmen Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs players Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks players Junior Kiwis players New Zealand national rugby league team captains New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand Warriors players People educated at St Paul's College, Auckland Richmond Bulldogs players Rugby league centres Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from Auckland Rugby league wingers Samoa national rugby league team captains Samoa national rugby league team players Samoan rugby league players South Sydney Rabbitohs players Warrington Wolves players