| Josevata Rokocoko | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Josevata Taliga Rokocoko | ||
| Date of birth | June 6, 1983 | ||
| Place of birth |  Nadi, Fiji |
||
| Height | 1.89 m (6 ft 21⁄2 in) | ||
| Weight | 98 kg (15 st 6 lb) | ||
| Nickname | Rocket Man, Roks, Smokin
Joe, The Flying Fijian |
||
| School | Saint Kentigern College | ||
| Notable relative(s) | Joeli Vidiri | ||
| Rugby union career | |||
| Playing career | |||
| Position | Wing | ||
| New Zealand No. | 1032 | ||
| Clubs | |||
| University | |||
| correct as of 1 Sept 2006. | |||
| Provincial/State sides | Caps | (points) | |
| 2004-current |  Auckland |
20 | (25) |
| correct as of 2006. | |||
| Super Rugby | |||
| 2003-current | Blues |
65 | (135) |
| correct as of 8 June 2006. | |||
| National team(s) | |||
| 2003- | New
Zealand |
60 | (225) T45 |
| correct as of 18 october 2009. | |||
Josevata Taliga "Joe" Rokocoko (pronounced [rokoˈðoko], born 6 June 1983 in Nadi, Fiji) is a professional New Zealand rugby union player. Rokocoko is known for his speed and strength which has accounted for his incredible try strike rate. He is a specialist left-winger but has occasionally played on the right wing for New Zealand.
Contents |
Josevata Rokocoko migrated to New Zealand with his family at the age of 5, settling in South Auckland and attending James Cook High School. He later won a scholarship to Saint Kentigern College, where he was a member of the 2001 National Secondary Schools team. After an outstanding career with New Zealand international sides at the under-16, under-19, and under-21 level, he started playing Super 12 rugby.
Rokocoko played for the Blues in 2003. He made his first appearance for the All Blacks on 14 June 2003 against England. He had a high strike rate for the All Blacks, scoring 25 tries in his first 20 tests, and breaking the All Blacks single-season record for test tries previously shared by Jonah Lomu and Christian Cullen—his 17 test tries scored in 2003 equals the world record held by Daisuke Ohata of Japan. The International Rugby Players' Association named him new player of the year in 2003. His incredible speed has been seen many a time through out his career. On 19 June 2004, in the All Blacks' second 2004 test with England, Rokocoko shredded the England defence for three tries in a 36-12 All Blacks victory over the reigning Rugby World Cup champions.
Rokocoko made his NPC debut for Auckland in 2004. Rokocoko returned to the All Blacks line-up for the 2005 Tri Nations, punctuating his comeback with a two-try effort in the All Blacks' pivotal home fixture against South Africa. By the end of the 2006 season he had scored 35 tries in 39 test matches. To date he has scored 45 tries in 60 tests, including 4 hat-tricks in his career: against France (2003), Australia (2003), England (2004) and Romania (2007). He scored his first try since the 2007 Rugby World Cup against Italy in June 2009.
Rokocoko is a cousin of former Auckland Blues and All Black winger Joeli Vidiri and NPC, Super 12, and New Zealand sevens player and current Fiji sevens coach, Iliesa Tanivula.[1] He and fellow All Black wing Sitiveni Sivivatu regard themselves as "cousins" as Sivivatu lived with the Rokocoko family, but they are not actual cousins.[2] In November 2006, Rokocoko asked New Zealand rugby management to list his name on team releases as Josevata, his Christian birth name, as opposed to Joe.[3]
In January 2008, Joe got married to his long-time sweetheart Beverly Politini, the daughter of Howard Politini, a Major in the Fiji Military. The wedding was attended by a large number of All Blacks[4]. They have a son called Cypress Rokocoko [5].
|
|||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
Template:Rugger Josevata Taliga "Joe" Rokocoko (pronounced [rokoˈðoko], born 6 June 1983 in Nadi, Fiji) is a professional New Zealand rugby union player. Rokocoko is known for his speed and strength which has accounted for his incredible try strike rate. He is a specialist left-winger but has occasionally played on the right wing for New Zealand.
Contents |
Joe Rokocoko migrated to New Zealand with his family at the age of 5, settling in South Auckland and attending James Cook High School. He later won a scholarship to Saint Kentigern College, where he was a member of the 2001 National Secondary Schools team. After an outstanding career with New Zealand international sides at the under-16, under-19, and under-21 level, he started playing Super 12 rugby.
Rokocoko played for the Blues in 2003. He made his first appearance for the All Blacks on 14 June 2003 against England. He has so far had a high strike rate for the All Blacks, scoring 25 tries in his first 20 tests, and breaking the All Blacks single-season record for test tries previously shared by Jonah Lomu and Christian Cullen—his 17 test tries scored in 2003 equals the world record held by Daisuke Ohata of Japan. The International Rugby Players' Association named him new player of the year in 2003. His incredible speed has been seen many a time through out his career. On 19 June 2004, in the All Blacks' second 2004 test with England, Rokocoko shredded the England defence for three tries in a 36-12 All Blacks victory over the reigning Rugby World Cup champions.
Rokocoko made his NPC debut for Auckland in 2004. Rokocoko returned to the All Blacks line-up for the 2005 Tri Nations, punctuating his comeback with a two-try effort in the All Blacks' pivotal home fixture against South Africa. By the end of the 2006 season he had scored 35 tries in 39 test matches. To date he has scored 44 tries in 55 tests, including 4 hat-tricks in his career: against France (2003), Australia (2003), England (2004) and Romania (2007). He scored his first try since the 2007 Rugby World Cup against Italy in June 2009 [1] which he wasn't too pleased about because the All Blacks didn't perform that well even though they defeated Italy
Rokocoko is a cousin of former Auckland Blues and All Black winger Joeli Vidiri and NPC, Super 12, and New Zealand sevens player and current Fiji sevens coach, Iliesa Tanivula.[2] He and fellow All Black wing Sitiveni Sivivatu regard themselves as "cousins" as Sivivatu lived with the Rokocoko family, but they are not actual cousins.[3] In November 2006, Rokocoko asked New Zealand rugby management to list his name on team releases as Josevata, his Christian birth name, as opposed to Joe.[4]
In January 2008, Joe got married to his long-time sweetheart Beverly Politini, the daughter of Howard Politini, a Major in the Fiji Military. The wedding was attended by a large number of All Blacks[5]. They have a son called Cypress Rokocoko [6]
| |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Template:New Zealand Squad 2006 Tri Nations
| |||||||||||
   | New Zealand Rugby Museum article on Rokocoko - Josevata Taliga Rokocoko : New Zealand All Black |
| | Joe becomes Josevata - RugbyHeaven - New Zealand's home of Rugby news,... | Stuff.co.nz |
| | Profile from All Blacks site - Josevata Rokocoko | allblacks.com - player profile |
| | Rokocoko profile from official Blues Super 12 site - Sport - Yahoo!Xtra Sport New Zealand |
| | All Black getting married - All Black getting married - sport | Stuff.co.nz |
| | Sivivatu to make All Blacks debut - BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | Lions in NZ | Sivivatu to make All Blacks debut |
| | Statistics itsrugby.com - Rugby : Résultat, Statistiques, Calendrier Rugby |
|
|
Wikis
Search
