Alama Ieremia facts for kids

Namulauulu Alama Ieremia (born 27 October 1970) is a well-known New Zealand rugby union coach and former international player. He played for both the Western Samoa and New Zealand rugby teams.

Early Life and Education

Alama Ieremia was born in Sinamoga, a suburb of Apia, Samoa. He started his schooling in Samoa and later attended Addington Primary School in Christchurch, New Zealand. He then went to Samoa College.

In 1991, Alama moved back to New Zealand. He studied geography at Victoria University. It was there that he began playing rugby, which would become his career.

Playing Career Highlights

Ieremia played for the Wellington team in New Zealand from 1992 to 2000. This is a type of local rugby competition. In his last season with Wellington, his team won the National Provincial Championship.

He also played for the Hurricanes in Super Rugby. This is a bigger, international competition. He was part of the Hurricanes from their very first season in 1996. Alama made history by scoring the first-ever try in Super Rugby! This happened against the Auckland Blues in Palmerston North.

His best season with the Hurricanes was in 1997. The team reached the semi-finals that year. Alama was a regular player for the Hurricanes. He often played alongside Jason O'Halloran in the midfield.

In 2001, Ieremia moved to Japan. He played for a team called Suntory Sungoliath. He even captained the team for one season. After playing in Japan, he retired from playing rugby in 2004 and returned to New Zealand.

International Rugby Matches

Alama Ieremia started his international rugby career in 1992. He played for the Western Samoa national team. His first game was on June 13 against Tonga in Apia. Western Samoa won that match 22–17. He played 5 games for Western Samoa. His last game for them was against the All Blacks in 1993.

Because of his strong performance in Super Rugby, Ieremia was chosen to play for the All Blacks in 1994. This was a big step up for him. He played as a second five-eighth and centre.

Ieremia was part of the All Blacks team for the 1995 Rugby World Cup. He played in one match against Japan. In that game, he scored his first international try for New Zealand. He also played in the 1999 Rugby World Cup.

Alama Ieremia was known as a strong and fast player. He was also a powerful defender. He had good skills and could kick the ball well. When he was healthy, he was one of the best midfield players in New Zealand rugby.

He left New Zealand rugby at the end of 2000. By then, he had played 40 matches for the All Blacks, including 30 official test matches.

Ieremia also played rugby sevens for his country. He represented Western Samoa in the 1993 Rugby World Cup Sevens. Later, he played for New Zealand in the 1997 Rugby World Cup Sevens.

Player Achievements

Alama Ieremia achieved many great things during his playing career:

• With New Zealand
  • Rugby World Cup / Webb Ellis Cup
    • Runners-up: 1995
  • Bledisloe Cup
    • Winners: 1997
  • Tri Nations
    • Winners: 1996, 1997, 1999

• With Western Samoa
  • South Pacific Championship
    • Winners: 1992, 1993

• With Wellington
  • National Provincial Championship
    • Winners: 2000

Coaching Career

After he stopped playing rugby in 2004, Alama Ieremia became a coach. He started as an assistant coach for Suntory Sungoliath in Japan. He focused on coaching the backs and how the team attacked.

In 2007, he came back to New Zealand. He became an assistant coach for the Wellington Lions. He helped them reach the final of their championship. After that, he became the head coach for the WRFU Academy for a year.

In 2008, Alama Ieremia joined the Hurricanes coaching team. He was the first former Hurricanes player to become a coach for the team. As the attack coach, he helped the Hurricanes score more points than any other team in 2009. He stayed with the Hurricanes as attack coach until 2014.

After leaving the Hurricanes, Ieremia joined the Samoan national team as an attack coach. In 2015, he was also made the interim general manager for Samoan rugby's high performance unit.

Head Coach of Samoa

On December 23, 2015, Alama Ieremia was named the head coach of the Manu Samoa team. This is the main Samoan national rugby team.

In his first game as head coach, Samoa had a 19-all draw against Georgia. Many new players made their debut in that match. Samoa finished second in the 2016 World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup that year.

During his time as head coach, Samoa faced tough matches. In 2017, they lost all four of their mid-year games. This included a big loss to New Zealand. They also lost to Wales in Apia for the first time in many years. Samoa finished last in the 2017 World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup.

After a review of the team's performance, Ieremia decided to resign as Samoan head coach on August 5, 2017. He had coached the team for 10 matches, winning 2 of them.

Auckland Coach

In December 2017, Alama Ieremia was appointed as the head coach for the Auckland Rugby Union.

Coaching Achievements

Alama Ieremia has also achieved success as a coach:

• With Samoa (as assistant coach)
  • IRB Pacific Nations Cup
    • Winners: 2014 (shared with Japan)
    • Runners-up: 2015

• With Wellington (as assistant coach)
  • National Provincial Championship
    • Runners-up: 2007