David Buko (1972–2002) was a Papua New Guinean professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who represented

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

in the

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

and 2000 World Cups.

Playing career

Buko began his career in the early 1990s and represented Northern Zone before first making the national side in 1993 after helping the Goroka Lahinis win the SP Cup grand final. He played for the national side in both the

and 2000 World Cups. In 1999, Buko joined the

Western Suburbs Magpies The Western Suburbs Magpies (legal name: Western Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Ltd) are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly r ...

, playing in eight games at both wing and fullback. Buko played in the club's final ever game as a first grade side which was a 60-16 loss against Auckland at

Campbelltown Stadium Campbelltown Stadium, formerly Orana Park and Campbelltown Sports Ground, is a multi-use stadium in Leumeah, New South Wales, Australia, owned by Campbelltown City Council. It is the home ground of the Western Suburbs Magpies and the Wests Ti ...

. The club merged with Balmain in 2000 to form the

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional Rugby league, rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a j ...

and Buko was not retained, instead playing in Wagga. Buko returned to Papua New Guinea and again played for the Goroka Lahinis and the national side. In the 2001 series against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

his form was so impressive that the

Limoux Grizzlies XIII Limouxin, also known as Limoux Grizzlies, are a semi-professional rugby league club from the town of Limoux in the Aude area in southern France. They play in the Elite One Championship. The club was formed in 1951. They have won the French ...

offered him a contract.Buko is dead
''Post Courier'', 23 January 2002 Buko played a total of 12 matches for

between 1993 and 2001. Buko died in January 2002, he had contracted

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

in 2001 and had chronic fever at the time of his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buko, David 1972 births 2002 deaths Deaths from typhoid fever Expatriate rugby league players in Australia Goroka Lahanis players Infectious disease deaths in Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea national rugby league team players Papua New Guinean expatriate rugby league players Papua New Guinean expatriate sportspeople in Australia Papua New Guinean rugby league players Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from the Eastern Highlands Province Rugby league wingers Western Suburbs Magpies players