Tana Umaga facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids
Tana Umaga

Umaga in 2005

Birth name

Jonathan Falefasa Umaga

Date of birth

27 May 1973 (age 52)

Place of birth

Lower Hutt, New Zealand

Height

1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)

Weight

100 kg (220 lb)

School

Parkway College

Notable relative(s)

Mike Umaga (brother)
Jerry Collins (cousin)
Jacob Umaga (nephew)
Peter Umaga-Jensen (nephew)
Thomas Umaga-Jensen (nephew)
Tu Umaga-Marshall (nephew)

Spouse

Rochelle Umaga

Children

Rugby union career

Senior career
Position(s)	Centre, wing
Years	Team	Apps	(Points)
1994–2005	Petone Rugby Club		()
2005–2006	Toulon	7	(10)
Provincial / State sides
Years	Team	Apps	(Points)
1994–2007	Wellington	100	(260)
2010	Counties Manukau	10	(5)
Super Rugby
Years	Team	Apps	(Points)
1996–2007	Hurricanes	122	(235)
2011	Chiefs	7	(5)
National team(s)
Years	Team	Apps	(Points)
1997–2005	New Zealand	74	(180)
Teams coached
Years	Team
2008–2009	Toulon
2010–2011	Counties Manukau (assistant)
2012–2015	Counties Manukau
2015	New Zealand under-20 (assistant)
2016–2018	Blues (Head Coach)
2021–2023	Samoa (assistant)
2024–	Moana Pasifika

Rugby league career

Playing information

Position

Centre

Club
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
1991–1992	Wainuiomata Lions
1992	Wellington
1993–1994	Newcastle Knights
	Total	0	0	0	0	0

Jonathan Ionatana Falefasa Umaga is a famous New Zealand rugby player and coach. He was born on 27 May 1973. Tana, as he is known, used to be the captain of New Zealand's national rugby team, the All Blacks. He is currently the head coach for the Moana Pasifika team in the Super Rugby competition.

Tana played for the Hurricanes from 1996 and became their captain in 2003. In 2004, he was chosen to be the captain of the All Blacks. Under his leadership, the All Blacks won 19 out of 22 games. This included a big win against the British & Irish Lions and a Grand Slam in 2005. Tana retired from playing for the All Blacks at the end of 2005. He had played 74 Test matches and scored 36 tries.

After his international career, Tana played a few games for the Wellington Lions in 2007. This helped him reach 100 matches for his home province. He then started coaching at Toulon in France. Tana even returned to playing for Toulon for a short time to help the team. Later, he came back to New Zealand to be a player-coach for Counties Manukau. He also played for the Waikato Chiefs in 2011.

Early Life and Rugby Beginnings
Rugby Union Career
Coaching Career
Family and Personal Life
Images for kids
See also

Early Life and Rugby Beginnings

Umaga plaque in Jackson Street, Petone

Tana Umaga was born in Lower Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand. His parents were immigrants from Samoa. Growing up, Tana played rugby league. He first wanted to play soccer, but his father encouraged him to play rugby instead.

Tana played for the Wainuiomata Lions and quickly became a top player. He joined the Wellington Under-16 and Under-17 teams. In 1991, he was picked for the Junior Kiwi team. This team also had future rugby stars like Joe Vagana and Ruben Wiki. Tana signed with the Newcastle Knights in Australia, but he soon returned to New Zealand because he missed home. He never played a top-level game in Australia.

In 1993, Tana's brother, Mike Umaga, convinced him to switch to rugby union. Mike played rugby union for Manu Samoa. In 1999, Tana and Mike played against each other in a Test match between Samoa and New Zealand. Tana scored two tries in that game, which the All Blacks won.

Rugby Union Career

Playing for Wellington and Hurricanes

Tana Umaga started playing as a wing for the Wellington Lions in 1994. He quickly became a key player, often scoring more tries than anyone else for three years in a row. In 1996, he was chosen for the first-ever Hurricanes team.

He also played for an Italian team, Viadana Rugby, in the 1994–1995 season. In his second season with the Hurricanes, he scored 12 tries, which was a New Zealand record at the time. This great performance led to him being called up to the national team, the All Blacks. He even scored a try in his very first Test match.

Becoming an All Black Star

In 2000, with a new coach, Tana Umaga became a regular wing for the All Blacks. The team had a huge win against Tonga, scoring 102–0. Tana also played in the first Bledisloe Cup match in 2000, which was called "the game of the century." He scored an early try in that match.

Tana signed a new four-year contract with the NZRU. When his teammate Alama Ieremia moved to Japan, Tana decided to focus on playing as a centre. Even though he had scored 9 tries in 7 games as a wing that year, he wanted to try a new position. After only one match at centre for the Hurricanes, Tana played in the midfield for the All Blacks against France. The All Blacks won that game.

The year 2000 was one of Tana Umaga's best. He won the Kelvin Tremain Memorial Trophy for New Zealand rugby player of the year. However, the All Blacks did not win the Tri Nations or Bledisloe Cup in 2000 or 2001. This led to a change in coaches.

Leadership and Sportsmanship

In 2003, Tana Umaga was named captain of the Wellington Lions and vice-captain of the All Blacks. The Hurricanes, led by Tana, had a great season, winning seven games in a row and reaching the semi-finals. His strong performance earned him a spot in the All Blacks squad for the 2003 Rugby World Cup.

During a Test match against Wales on 21 June 2003, something special happened. The Welsh captain, Colin Charvis, was knocked out. Tana Umaga stopped playing, even though his team was in a good attacking position. He checked on Charvis to make sure he was okay and put him in a safe position. For this amazing act of sportsmanship, Tana was given the Pierre de Coubertin World Trophy. He was the first New Zealander to receive this award. The Welsh Rugby Union also gave him a special gift to honor his kindness.

The All Blacks had a very successful year in 2003. They beat the Springboks 52–16 and the Wallabies 50–21 in away games. They also won both home matches, taking home the Tri Nations title and the Bledisloe Cup. This made them one of the favorites to win the World Cup that year.

Unfortunately, Tana Umaga got a knee injury in the opening match of the 2003 Rugby World Cup. He could not play for the rest of the tournament. The All Blacks lost in the semi-finals to Australia.

All Black Captaincy: 2004–2005

After the World Cup, Graham Henry became the new All Blacks coach. He chose Tana Umaga as his first captain. Tana was the first New Zealander of Pacific Island heritage to captain the All Blacks in a Test match. His captaincy started very well, with six wins in a row. This included two victories against the World Cup champions, England. The All Blacks also won back the Bledisloe Cup in 2004.

In 2004, Tana Umaga became the first New Zealand rugby player who was not of Maori descent to lead the Haka before a match. This made him the leader of this powerful pre-game challenge.

In 2005, the British & Irish Lions toured New Zealand. Tana Umaga was involved in an incident during the first Test match. He and teammate Keven Mealamu tackled Lions captain Brian O'Driscoll, who suffered a dislocated shoulder. The incident caused a lot of discussion, with some calling it a "spear tackle." However, an official review found that there was not enough clear evidence to punish Umaga or Mealamu at the time. Years later, in 2014, Brian O'Driscoll playfully nominated Tana Umaga for the ALS ice bucket challenge, showing their rivalry had softened.

New Zealand won all their games during the Lions tour and also won the Tri-Nations, keeping the Bledisloe Cup. Tana Umaga was nominated for the 2005 International Player of the Year award. He also led the All Blacks to a Grand Slam tour in the Northern Hemisphere. After playing 74 Test matches, Tana announced his retirement from international rugby on 10 January 2006. He wanted to spend more time with his family. Richie McCaw took over as captain after Tana.

Later Playing Career and Retirement

Tana Umaga waving goodbye to fans during his last match

For the 2006 Super 14 season, Tana Umaga passed the Hurricanes captaincy to Rodney So'oialo to focus on his own game. The Hurricanes reached the semi-finals again. In the 2006 Queen's Birthday Honours, Tana Umaga was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to rugby.

Tana then signed with the French club Toulon. He played seven matches for Toulon. When he arrived, Toulon was ninth in their league, but by the time he left, they had moved up to third place. Toulon won eight of nine matches with Tana on the team. He played his last season for the Hurricanes in 2007. On 25 September 2007, Tana Umaga released a book about his rugby career.

In 2011, Tana Umaga made a return to Super Rugby, playing for the Chiefs. This was his first Super Rugby game since 2007. After playing 7 games, he officially retired as a player at the end of the 2011 ITM Cup season.

Leading the Haka

Tana Umaga often led the Ka Mate version of the haka before many Test matches. He was also the first player to lead the team in the newer Kapa o pango haka in 2005 against South Africa. He led the Kapa o Pango haka two times in total.

Coaching Career

After his playing career, Tana Umaga moved into coaching. During the 2008/09 season, he coached Toulon in France. He even played for them again for a short period while also coaching. After that, he stayed on as an assistant coach for Toulon.

In 2010, Tana Umaga returned to New Zealand to be a player-coach for Counties Manukau. He helped the team compete well.

On 23 June 2015, it was announced that Tana Umaga would become the head coach of The Blues team for the 2016 Super Rugby competition. He was the head coach from 2016 to 2018. After that, he became the defence coach for the Blues.

More recently, on 9 June 2023, it was announced that Tana Umaga would become the head coach of the Moana Pasifika rugby team for the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season.

Family and Personal Life

Tana Umaga comes from a rugby family. His brother, Mike Umaga, played for Samoa in both rugby union and rugby league. His cousin, Jerry Collins, was also a famous All Black. Several of his nephews, including Peter Umaga-Jensen and Thomas Umaga-Jensen, have also played rugby at a high level.

Tana is married to Rochelle, and they have four children together.

After retiring from professional rugby, Tana Umaga started training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. In 2022, he won a silver medal as a brown belt at a big competition. Soon after, he earned his black belt in the sport.

There is even an aviation waypoint named after Tana Umaga! It's called UMAGA and is located south of Wellington Airport's Runway 34. It helps planes find their way when approaching the airport.