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 The Widnes Vikings are an English rugby league club in Widnes, Cheshire, which competes in the Betfred Championship. The club plays home matches at the Halton Stadium. Founded as Widnes Football Club, they are one of the original twenty-two r ...

player

Macgraff Leuluai Macgraff David E. Leuluai (born 9 February 1990) is a rugby league footballer who plays as a or . Background He was born in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. His father, James Leuluai, James, and his brother, Thomas Leuluai, Thomas, have bot ...

and

Wigan Warriors The Wigan Warriors are a professional rugby league club in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the Super League. Formed in 1872 as Wigan Football Club, Wigan was a founding member of the Rugby Football League, Northern Rugby ...

and New Zealand international

Thomas Leuluai Thomas James Leuluai (born 22 June 1985) is a New Zealand professional rugby league coach who is the assistant coach of the Wigan Warriors in the Betfred Super League and a former professional rugby league footballer who played for New Zealand ...

, and the uncle of former

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club was formed in 1870 as Leeds St John's and play in the Super League, the top tier of English rugby league. They have played home matches at Headin ...

prop

Kylie Leuluai Kylie Leuluai (born 29 March 1978) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer. A New Zealand Māori and Samoa international representative , he most notably played at club level for the Leeds Rhinos in the Super League. He ...

Playing career

A Mt Wellington junior, in his career Leuluai played for the

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Super League. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, between 1999 and 2016 the ...

( Heritage №1007),

Hull FC 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 ...

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...

( Heritage № 962), Ryedale-York and

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

. Leuluai also represented the

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team ( Māori: Tīma rīki motu Aotearoa) has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of ...

and New Zealand Māori. Between 1979 and 1986 he played in 29 test matches for

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. His Hull FC début, alongside fellow débutant

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 ...

and

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 ...

(who had already appeared) came on 27 September 1981 against Castleford. Achievements over the next year included helping Hull to win the John Player Trophy, also being Premiership runners-up, and of course to lift the 1982 Challenge Cup, the first time the Challenge Cup had been back at the Boulevard since 1914. A'au James Leuluai was an unused interchange/ substitute in

's 14-14 draw with

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form th ...

in the 1982 Challenge Cup Final during the 1981–82 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 original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

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 1 May 1982, in front of a crowd of 92,147, and played right- (

Terry Day Terence Day (born 17 October 1940) is a musician specialising in free improvisation, a poet and a visual artist. He is a founding member of the ''Continuous Music Ensemble'' and ''The People Band''. Some of his musical partners include Derek Ba ...

having played in the first match) in the 18-9 victory over

in the 1982 Challenge Cup Final replay during the 1981–82 season at Elland Road,

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 Wednesday 19 May 1982, in front of a crowd of 41,171, Nicknamed "Lullaby", as he so often fell asleep off the field he was anything but sleepy on it, scoring many remarkable tries including what the Yorkshire Post described as "one of the greatest solo tries of all time" in the 1983 Challenge Cup semi-final victory over Castleford, passing four Castleford players and racing around half of the length of the field without a hand ever touching him until he had crossed the line. Leuluai played left- and scored 2- tries in

's 24-28 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 1985 Challenge Cup Final during the 1984–85 season at

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 12-28 down at half-time. Leuluai played left- in

's 18-7 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 1982 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1982–83 season at Elland Road,

on Saturday 2 October 1982, played left- in the 13-2 victory over

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 th ...

in the 1983 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1983–84 season at Elland Road,

on Saturday 15 October 1983, and played in the 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 Challen ...

in the 1984 Yorkshire Cup 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-ea ...

on Saturday 27 October 1984. Leuluai played left- in

's 12-4 victory over

in the 1981–82 John Player Trophy Final during the 1981–82 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 Headingley ...

on Saturday 23 January 1982, played left- in the 12-0 victory over

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

on Saturday 26 January 1985. In 1986/7, after failing to agree a new contract with Hull he was transfer listed at £50,000. "Jimmy" subsequently played 6 games on loan to Leigh before returning to the Boulevard for 3 more games and a further 27 in 1987 / 88. In October 1988 he then signed for Wakefield Trinity, making his début in the 12-34 defeat by

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

, playing 51 times over 2 seasons and scoring 12 tries. In 1990/91 he moved to Ryedale-York, playing 7 matches and scoring 2 tries before ending his UK career at Doncaster the same year with 13 games and 1 try. His last match on UK soil was a Doncaster home game to Leigh on 14 April 1991, played in front of just 1,557, a rather sad end to a great Rugby League career Such was their subsequent commitment to the British game that Leuluai and his Hull counterparts Gary Kemble & Dane O'Hara (Fred Ah Kuoi had served 4 years with the Club at this point and so would not be eligible until the following year) saw the Government & Rugby Football League change rules and by laws regarding overseas players in 1986 to take those who had shown such commitment outside of the overseas player quotas. After he had finished his English career, Leuluai returned to New Zealand and started playing for

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

. He helped them defeat

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 ...

for the first time in 75 years. It was during this time in Wellington that Leuluai began his coaching career.Coffey and Wood ''The Kiwis: 100 Years of International Rugby League''

Coaching career

Leuluai was the coach of the

Wellington City Dukes The Wellington City Dukes were a New Zealand rugby league club that represented Wellington City in the Lion Red Cup from 1994 to 1996. In 1997 one of the two Wellington Rugby League sides that competed in the Super League Challenge Cup was also ...

in the

1994 Lion Red Cup The 1994 New Zealand rugby league season was the 87th season of rugby league in New Zealand. The main feature of the season was the inaugural Lion Red Cup competition that was run by the New Zealand Rugby League. The North Harbour Sea Eagles won t ...

.''Lion Red Rugby League Annual 1994'',

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 '' ...

, 1994. p.129 During the early seasons of the Bartercard Cup, Leuluai was the coach of the

Eastern Tornadoes The Eastern Tornadoes were a New Zealand rugby league franchise that competed in the New Zealand Rugby League's Bartercard Cup and Auckland Rugby League's Super 12 competitions. They were formed to represent the rugby league clubs of East Auck ...

. He later took on the role of the

Junior Kiwis The Junior Kiwis side represents New Zealand in the sport of rugby league. They are commonly known as the Junior Kiwis, after the native bird of that name. Since 2010, they are an under-20s side, with players selected from the NRL, Intrust Super ...

in 2002. Between 2003 and 2005 Leuluai was one of Daniel Andersons two assistant coaches with the

. After a career of coaching New Zealand representative sides, Leuluai applied for the head coaching job of the

in 2005 and was heavily favoured to be appointed until he withdrew due to personal reasons.

Brian McClennan Brian "Bluey" McClennan (born 16 February 1962) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer and coach. He was previously the head coach of the New Zealand national team (with whom he won the 2005 Tri-nations) and then England' ...

was appointed coach instead. In July 2007 Leuluai again applied to coach the

New Zealand Kiwis The New Zealand national rugby league team (Māori: Tīma rīki motu Aotearoa) has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of ...

but ultimately

was appointed coach. Leuluai served as assistant under Kemble. In 2011 Leuluai co-coached the

Mangere East Hawks The Mangere East Hawks are a rugby league based in Mangere, New Zealand. The Hawks compete in Auckland Rugby League's Fox Memorial competition. History The club was formed in 1963, the first fourteen junior teams took the field in 1964.''The Ha ...

in the Auckland Rugby League competition.''Superleague'', Volume 5, Issue 4, Edition 26 2010. p.22.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leuluai, James 1957 births Living people Auckland rugby league team players Central Districts rugby league team players Doncaster R.L.F.C. players Hull F.C. players Junior Kiwis coaches

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

Leigh Leopards players Mangere East Hawks coaches Manly Warringah Sea Eagles players Mount Wellington Warriors coaches Mount Wellington Warriors players New Zealand Māori rugby league players New Zealand Māori rugby league team players New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league coaches New Zealand rugby league players Petone Panthers players Rugby league centres Wakefield Trinity players Wellington rugby league team coaches Wellington rugby league team players York Wasps players