Duane Darrin Mann (born 28 June 1965) is a New Zealand former

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 11 ...

footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 2000s. A

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

and New Zealand international representative , he captained both sides. Mann played his club football for New Zealand sides Glenora, North Harbour,

Auckland Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...

and Counties Manukau, as well as for English club,

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

Background

Of Maori and Tongan descent, Mann was born in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

on 28 June 1965 into a family that already had a large presence in rugby league, with his father Don Mann representing New Zealand, his cousin

Esau Esau ''Ēsaû''; la, Hesau, Esau; ar, عِيسَوْ ''‘Īsaw''; meaning "hairy"Easton, M. ''Illustrated Bible Dictionary'', (, , 2006, p. 236 or "rough".Mandel, D. ''The Ultimate Who's Who in the Bible'', (.), 2007, p. 175 is the elder son o ...

going on to play for Tonga, and his brother Don Jr., going on to work in administration at the

New Zealand Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...

. He is also the cousin of fellow New Zealand and Tongan international,

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

.Coffey and Wood ''The Kiwis: 100 Years of International Rugby League''

Playing career

1980s

Mann attended Kelston Boys High School and played for the

Glenora Bears The Glenora Bears are a rugby league football club based in Glen Eden, New Zealand who compete in Auckland Rugby League's Fox Memorial competition. History The club was established in 1931 when the Auckland Rugby League Junior Management Com ...

from schoolboys right up to premier grade. When the

Tonga national rugby league team The Tonga national rugby league team ( to, timi līki ʻakapulu fakafonua ʻa Tonga) represents Tonga in rugby league football. They are currently the second ranked team in the world. The team was formed to compete in the 1986 Pacific Cup, an ...

was first formed to compete in the

1986 Pacific Cup The 1986 Pacific Cup was the 3rd Pacific Cup, a rugby league tournament held between Pacific teams. The tournament was hosted in the Cook Islands and eventually won by the New Zealand Māori side, who defeated Western Samoa in the final. Backgrou ...

he was selected to play in the side, making his international début. Mann made his début for

Auckland rugby league team The Auckland rugby league team is the team which traditionally represents all of the clubs which play in the Auckland Rugby League competition. As well as a senior men's team there are also Auckland representative teams throughout the various ...

in 1987 and played in their 30-14 win over

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

in 1988. He was also selected to represent Tonga at the

1988 Pacific Cup The 1988 Pacific Cup was the fourth edition of the Pacific Cup, a rugby league tournament held between Pacific teams. The tournament was hosted by Western Samoa and eventually won by the New Zealand Māori side, who defeated Western Samoa 26-16 ...

Apia Apia () is the 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'') of Tuamasaga. ...

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

. In 1989 Mann signed for the

Warrington Wolves The Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England, that competes in the Super League. They play rugby at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2004. Founded as Warrington ...

in the English

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

.Duane Mann
''Training Plus'' During the 1989 Kangaroo tour of New Zealand he was selected to play for the Kiwis against Australia. From 1989 to 1993 Mann would play in 24 consecutive tests, including matches that formed part of the 1989–1992 World Cup.

1990s

Mann played for

as a in their 14-36 defeat by

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the north-east and Warrington t ...

in the 1990 Challenge Cup Final at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on Saturday 28 April 1990, in front of a crowd of 77,729. During the

1990 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France The 1990 Kangaroo Tour was the seventeenth Kangaroo Tour, where the Australian national rugby league team (known as the XXXX Kangaroos due to sponsorship reasons) travelled to Europe and played eighteen matches against British and French club a ...

he played for his club Warrington against Australia. Mann played in

's 12-2 victory over

Bradford Northern The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is pre ...

in the 1990–91 Regal Trophy Final at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

on Saturday 12 January 1991. Mann played for three seasons in England before returning home to Auckland and playing a season for the North Harbour Sea Eagles who he captained to win the 1994 Lion Red Cup. In 1994 he was made captain of the New Zealand side. Mann was signed by the

who were to enter the

Australian Rugby League The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARL), formerly the Australian Rugby Football League known as the Australian Rugby League is an Australian rugby league football competition operator. It was founded in 1986 as the Australian Rugby Footbal ...

competition in 1995, and played in the club's inaugural match. That year he switched national allegiance back to Tonga whom he captained in both the

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

and later the 2000 World Cup tournaments.Warrington’s World Cup heroes - Duane Mann
''This is Cheshire'', 24 October 2008 Mann left the Warriors in 1996 and returned to win the Lion Red Cup, as captain of the Counties Manukau Heroes. He captained and won three successive Fox Memorial Championships with the

in the 1997, 1998 and 1999 Auckland Rugby League competition and again represented

in the 1997 Super League Challenge Cup.

Later life

Mann was occasionally involved in coaching with the Tongan national side, and in 2006 he was co-coach of the team that won the

Pacific Cup The Pacific Cup was a rugby league football competition for national teams from the Pacific region. History The Pacific Cup was started in 1975 by Keith Gittoes of the New South Wales Rugby League.New Zealand Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...

Junior Development Coach. In 2008 and 2009 he was the head coach of the

in the Auckland Rugby League. He has also held positions as the coaching development manager with Regional Sports Trusts and the Greater Auckland Coaching Unit, and

New Zealand Rugby League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood '' ...

's high performance director. Mann was previously Business & Sport Director and also Old Boys Chairman at Kelston Boys High School and occasionally works as a commentator and presenter on Sky TV. In 2010 and 2011 he was the head coach of the Bay Roskill Vikings."What they said", ''Super League'', Issue 1 2010. p.17

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mann, Duane 1965 births Living people Auckland rugby league team players Bay Roskill Vikings coaches Counties Manukau rugby league team players Glenora Bears coaches Glenora Bears players New Zealand national rugby league team captains New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand sportspeople of Tongan descent New Zealand rugby league coaches New Zealand rugby league commentators New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand Warriors captains New Zealand Warriors players North Harbour rugby league team players Rugby league hookers Rugby league players from Auckland Tonga national rugby league team captains Tonga national rugby league team coaches Tonga national rugby league team players Warrington Wolves players