John Francis Akurangi (born 24 April 1970) is a New Zealand former professional rugby union player.[1]
| Full name | John Francis Akurangi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 24 April 1970 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Hastings, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 246 lb (112 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Akurangi was born in Hastings and is an old boy of St Peter's College, Auckland.[2]
A NZ Maori representative front-rower, Akurangi was in the Auckland Blues squad the won the inaugural Super 12 competition in 1996, before stints with the Crusaders and Chiefs.[3] He played professional rugby overseas at Stade Français and SU Agen during the 1990s, then had a season with the Leicester Tigers in 1999–00.[4]
Akurangi received a fine in 2002 for cultivating and possessing cannabis, a conviction that cost him a $1 million contract to coach a Japanese club.[5] He then lived in Sydney for several years and during this period had an acting cameo as a bouncer on Underbelly: The Golden Mile.[6] After moving to Italy in 2010 to coach rugby, Akurangi suffered a heart attack and had a stent inserted, which caused further issues five years later when it tore an aorta near his heart. He underwent seven hour surgery in Milan and has subsequently recovered.[7]
References
edit- ^ "John Francis Akurangi". www.rugbyhistory.co.nz.
- ^ "Blog Archives". College Sport Media. 27 September 2018.
- ^ "Rugby: The first Super champions - where are they now?". NZ Herald. 13 February 2016.
- ^ "Former Super Rugby hooker in hospital". NZ Herald. 7 December 2015.
- ^ "Former Māori All Black rebuilds career in Italy". Newshub. 4 June 2017.
- ^ "Akurangi's long journey back". Stuff.co.nz. 7 March 2010.
- ^ "Former Crusaders hooker John Akurangi 'doing well' after heart surgery in Italy". Stuff.co.nz. 8 December 2015.
External links
edit- John Akurangi at ESPNscrum