Fred "Freddie" Ah Kuoi (born 7 June 1956) is a Samoa-born New Zealand former 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 New Zealand.

Early years

Ah Kuoi was born 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 ...

Western 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); a ...

, in 1956 and emigrated to New Zealand in 1962 with his parents, Fred Snr and Siutu Ah Kuoi, and his two younger brothers, Peter and Afi. Brothers Andrew and Paul and sister Elizabeth were born in Auckland, New Zealand. Paul later played for Marist Richmond, Glenora and represented

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 Island, Manono an ...

.Bruce Montgomerie ''Those Who Played'', Montgomerie Publishing, 2004. . p.p.16-17. Both Peter and Andrew represented New Zealand universities in rugby league with Peter being selected into the 1976 team, while Andrew toured England and France in 1984 with the New Zealand Universities team. Fred Ah Kuoi also played for Auckland University in several university winter tournaments, but was never chosen by the national selectors.

Playing career

Ah Kuoi began his career in 1973 playing for

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

in the

Auckland Rugby League The Auckland Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is responsible for rugby league in the region, including both club and school rugby league. It began in 1910 when the fi ...

competition. He was part of the Richmond side that won the championship in 1979. Ah Kuoi moved to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in 1981 to play professionally for the

North Sydney Bears The North Sydney Bears is an Australian rugby league football club based in North Sydney, New South Wales. The club competes in the New South Wales Cup, having exited the National Rugby League following the 1999 NRL season after 90 years in the ...

, then to England to join his former teammates,

James Leuluai A'au James Leuluai (born 4 February 1957) is a New Zealand former international rugby league . Background He is the father of former Widnes Vikings player Macgraff Leuluai and Wigan Warriors and New Zealand international Thomas Leuluai, and th ...

Gary Kemble Gary Edward Kemble (born 23 August 1956), also known by the nickname "Crayfish", is a New Zealand rugby league coach and former player. He has both played and coached the New Zealand national rugby league team. He is the current head coach of t ...

and

Dane O'Hara Dane Bradford Mark O'Hara is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand. At the time of his retirement he held the record for most international matches for New Zealand. Early years O'Hara attended St. Paul's Colle ...

, at

Hull F.C. Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and were ...

from 1983 to 1987. Ah Kuoi played in Hull's 24–28 defeat by

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, 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 nor ...

in the

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

Final during the 1984–85 season 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 Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on Saturday 4 May 1985, in front of a crowd of 99,801, in what is regarded as the most marvellous cup final in living memory, which Hull narrowly lost after fighting back from down 12–28 at half-time. Ah Kuoi played in Hull's 29–12 victory over

Hull Kingston Rovers Hull Kingston Rovers are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England, that competes in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby league. The club has won five league championships, and one Challeng ...

in the

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

County Cup The county football associations are the local governing bodies of association football in England and the Crown dependencies. County FAs exist to govern all aspects of football in England. They are responsible for administering club and player ...

Final during the 1984–85 season at

Boothferry Park Boothferry Park was a football stadium in Hull, England, which was home to Hull City A.F.C. from 1946 until 2002, when they moved to the KC Stadium. In later years, financial constraints forced Hull City to allow Kwik Save and Iceland superma ...

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east ...

on Saturday 27 October 1984, and played in the 24–31 defeat by

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the town centre the River Calder joins the ...

in the

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

Final during the 1986–87 season 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 Headingle ...

Rugby Stadium,

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 populati ...

on Saturday 11 October 1986. Fred Ah Kuoi played right-, i.e. number 3, in Hull's 0–12 defeat by

in the 1984–85 John Player Special Trophy Final during the 1984–85 season at

on Saturday 26 January 1985. Debuting at home versus Hull KR on 2/10/1983 he went on to play for Hull 126 times (including 10 as sub), scoring 28 tries and 1 drop goal for 113 points. Ever versatile, in addition to his main half back role he was also able to play in most of the back positions and even as hooker when need be. In his last year with Hull, 1986 he also became assistant coach to Kenny Foulkes, before finishing his career by returning to Richmond before retiring at the end of the 1987 New Zealand season.

Representative career

Ah Kuoi represented

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

between 1975 and 1980. Ah Kuoi made his international début for New Zealand Māori in 1975, at the age of 18. He toured Australia with the side, participated in the 1975 Pacific Cup and faced Australia, Wales, England and France in New Zealand. That same year, he made the national Kiwi team, touring England and France during the World Cup series. He was Vice Captain in 1979, 80, 81 and 83 and captained the New Zealand team in 1979, becoming New Zealand's youngest ever Captain at just 22, leading the 18-11 3rd test victory over Britain's Tourists (after they'd lost the first two under Graham West) then again in 1984 when he led New Zealand to their first 3–0 victory over a Great Britain Touring Team - also meaning that New Zealand had never lost a game when Ah Kuoi was Captain. During the 1980 tour of Great Britain and France, Ah Kuoi was man of the match in the 14-14 1st test at Wigan and voted the "Most Valuable Player" of the tour also being given the world No. 1 ranking in the 5/8th position, by the English press. In 1983 he was a member of the team that beat the Australians for the first time since 1971, at

Lang Park Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...

in Brisbane, Australia. He represented the New Zealand "Kiwi" rugby league team from 1975 to 1985, achieving 28 test appearances.Rothmans Rugby League year books 1981-82 and 1986-87 and Hull FC 100 greats

Later years

Ah Kuoi married his wife Margot in Sydney, Australia on 9 June 1982. Their daughter, Danielle, was born in Sydney on 3 June 1983; their son, Joshua, was born on 9 July 1985 in Hull, and their youngest daughter, Madeleine, was born in Auckland, NZ on 3 December 1988.''Hull Daily Mail'', Mally's memories 3/10/09 and HDM 21.10.06 "Look who's back" Ah Kuoi coached the

Richmond Bulldogs The Richmond Rovers Rugby League Club is a rugby league club based in Grey Lynn, New Zealand. The premier team is called the Richmond Bulldogs and compete in Auckland Rugby League's Fox Memorial competition. Early history The club was formed in ...

from 1988 to 89, and again in 1997 and 1998.''New Zealand Rugby League Annual '97'',

New Zealand Rugby Football 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 ''T ...

, 1997. p.145 Ah Kuoi currently lives in Ponsonby, Auckland, New Zealand, where he is a senior residential youth mentor at the Auckland Dream Centre.

References

External links

Au Kuoi 'Aiga
*(archived by web.archive.org
Stats → Past Players → A at hullfc.com
*(archived by web.archive.org
Statistics at hullfc.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ah Kuoi, Fred 1956 births Living people Auckland rugby league team players Expatriate rugby league players in Australia Expatriate rugby league players in England Hull F.C. players New Zealand expatriate rugby league players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Australia New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England New Zealand Māori rugby league team players New Zealand national rugby league team captains New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league coaches New Zealand rugby league players North Sydney Bears players Richmond Bulldogs coaches Richmond Bulldogs players Rugby league centres Rugby league five-eighths Samoan emigrants to New Zealand Samoan rugby league players Sportspeople from Apia