Afato So'oalo (born January 5, 1974 in

Apia Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa, as well as the nation's only city. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō ...

) is a former Samoan rugby union player. He played for the

Manu Samoa The Samoa national rugby union team (also known as Manu Samoa) represents Samoa in men's international rugby union and it is governed by the Samoa Rugby Union. They are also known as Manu Samoa, which is thought to derive from the name of a Samo ...

team and also played for the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

and for

Aviron Bayonnais Aviron Bayonnais ( eu, Baionako Arrauna), commonly called Bayonne, is a French rugby union club from Bayonne (''Baiona'', in Basque) in Pyrénées-Atlantiques which, for the 2016-17 season, competed in the top tier of the French league system, ...

in France. He played as a winger.

Career

A devastating runner, So'oalo debuted for Samoa during a match against Ireland, at

Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium ( ga, Bóthar Lansdún, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for ...

, on November 12, 1996, where he scored one of the most memorable tries in recent history when completing a 70-yard move with his first touch. He was part of the

1999 Rugby World Cup The 1999 Rugby World Cup was the fourth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial international rugby union championship. It was principally hosted by Wales, and was won by Australia. This was the first Rugby World Cup to be held in the sport's professi ...

roster, playing two matches, where he scored a try against Japan. His last international cap was also against Ireland, at Lansdowne Road, on November 11, 2001. He was a regular member of the

from 1997-2001 and played on the right wing. So’oalo excelled in the No.14 jersey, and in a memorable moment in the 1999 Super Rugby final scored a match winning try against the Highlanders, by out sprinting Jeff Wilson to score in the corner, and win the game for the Crusaders.

References

External links

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Afato So'oalo at New Zealand Rugby History
{{DEFAULTSORT:So'oalo, Afato 1974 births Living people Rugby union players from Apia Samoan rugby union players Samoan expatriates in New Zealand Rugby union wings Samoa international rugby union players Crusaders (rugby union) players