Inoke Male

Inoke Male (born 3 June 1963, in Nausori, Fiji), is a Fijian former rugby union footballer and former head coach of the Fijian national side.[1] He played in the position of Number eight, but could also play Flanker during his playing career.

Inoke Male
Birth nameInoke Male
Date of birth (1963-06-03) 3 June 1963
Place of birthNausori, Fiji
Height1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight103 kg (16 st 3 lb)
Notable relative(s)Waisiki Masirewa (Brother)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Number eight
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1985–1989
1989–1993
1995–1997
1997–2000
2000–2002
Raralevu
Navy
Te Kawhata
Navy
Tailevu
()
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
1993–2001  Fiji 15 (5)
Teams coached
Years Team
2003–2006
2007–2009
2009–2010
2010
2010–2012
2011
2012–2014
2015–
Navy
Tailevu
Fiji (Asst. Coach)
Fiji Warriors
Vatukoula Rugby
Fiji U20
Fiji (Head Coach)
Tailevu

Fiji Caps

Male, a product of Raralevu rugby club, first represented Fiji in 1993 in a series of uncapped matches. However, a member of the Navy in Fiji, he was unable to represent his nation further after he moved to the Middle East for peacekeeping duties.[2] On his return in 1995, he signed with Te Kawhata in New Zealand where he stayed for two years. He returned to the Fiji international scene in 1998, and Male earned his first official test cap for Fiji on 18 September 1998 against Australia in Sydney, where he started in the Number eight jersey. After missing out on the Epson Cup in 1999, he forced his way into the 1999 Rugby World Cup squad with a competent performance for the Fiji Warriors against the NZ Maori. He last played for Fiji on 8 July 2001 against neighboring pacific island team Samoa. He played 22 times for Fiji (only 15 test matches), scoring only 5 points with his try against Samoa in 2001.

Cap #[3] Date Opponents Score Result Venue
9 August 1998 Northland44–30LostLowe Walker Stadium, Whangarei
118 September 1998 Australia66–20LostParramatta Stadium, Sydney
8 November 1998 Penzance & Newlyn5–53WonMennaye Field, Cornwall
19 November 1998 Brisol Select XV28–58WonMemorial Stadium, Bristol
24 November 1998 Glasgow Caledonians41–22LostScotstoun Stadium, Glasgow
27 November 1998 Edinburgh Reivers27–30WonMansfield Park, Hawick
30 November 1998 Leeds Tykes27–10LostHeadingley Rugby Stadium, Leeds
17 August 1999 Australian Barbarians31–25LostNorth Sydney Oval, Sydney
226 August 1999 Uruguay39–24WonStadio Tommaso Fattori, L'Aquila (NV)
320 October 1999 England45–24LostTwickenham Stadium, London
420 May 2000 Japan22–47WonChichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Tokyo
526 May 2000 Tonga22–25WonTeufaiva Stadium, Nukuʻalofa
63 June 2000 Samoa31–17LostApia Park, Apia
730 June 2000 United States37–21WonApia Park, Apia (NV)
87 July 2000 Canada11–42WonApia Park, Apia (NV)
915 July 2000 Italy43–9WonChurchill Park, Lautoka
1025 May 2001 Tonga31–26LostTeufaiva Stadium, Nukuʻalofa
119 June 2001 Samoa27–36LostNational Stadium, Suva
1216 June 2001 Tonga25–20WonChurchill Park, Lautoka
1323 June 2001 Samoa19–22WonApia Park, Apia
143 July 2001 Canada23–52WonChichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Tokyo (NV)
158 July 2001 Samoa28–17WonChichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Tokyo (NV)

Coach of Fiji

Having coached in Fiji since 2004, Male applied for the Fijian head coach when it became vacant in 2011. He had previously acted as Assistant Coach to Sam Domoni between 2009 and 2010, before taking hold of the Fiji Warriors in 2010 and the Under 20's in 2011. On 13 January 2012, following a disappointing fourth place in Pool D in the 2011 Ruby World Cup with Sam Domoni in charge (including a record lose to Wales 66–0 and an unconvincing 49–25 win over Namibia), Inoke Male was named the new head coach of the Flying Fijians.

Male's first match in charge was against Japan in the 2012 IRB Pacific Nations Cup, which saw Fiji win 25–19. They narrowly lost to Samoa in the second round 29–26, but finished second in the overall table following a 29–17 win over Tonga. Male also coached Fiji against Tier 1 nation Scotland during the 2012 mid-year rugby union tests, but Scotland were the victors 37–25 in Lautoka. Inoke and his team had a disappointing end-of-year tour in 2012, losing 54–12 to England in London and losing 53–0 to Ireland XV in Munster. They earned a close 24–19 win over Georgia, but the team also lost to English domestic club side Gloucester 31–29.

2013 saw Fiji win their first ever IRB Pacific Nations Cup winning 4 from 5 in the tournament; 22–8 win over Japan, 35–10 win over the United States and a 34–21 win over Tonga. Fiji's only loss was to Canada 20–18. In addition to the Pacific Nations Cup, Inoke led Fiji to a 33–14 win over the Classic All Blacks as part of Fiji's centennial celebrations. The 2013 end-of-year tour saw Fiji win 2 from 4 on tour; 36–13 win over Portugal in Lisbon and a 26–7 win over Romania in Bucharest. Fiji lost to a star-studded Barbarians side 43–19 and to a weakened Italian side 37–31. This match however, saw Fiji break the record for the number of yellow cards given out to one team in a single test match at 5.

In January 2014 the International Rugby Board, (IRB), suspended funding to the Fiji Rugby Union after a failure to address concerns over administration and governance with immediate effect. With the lack of money that the FRU has, the cash-strapped union sacked Inoke Male on 27 January 2014, 1 year early of his contract.[4] This meant his win rate with Fiji was 50%, coached 16 won 8 lost 8.

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Sam Domoni
Fiji National Rugby Union Coach
2012–2014
Succeeded by
John McKee

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.