Lance Koro Hohaia (born 1 April 1983), also known by the

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

of "The Huntly Hurricane", is a 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. A New Zealand international representative utility back, he played in the

NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

for 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 ...

and the

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

for St Helens, with whom he won the 2014 Super League championship. In 2008 Hohaia was a member of the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

winning

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 ...

team.

Early years

Hohaia was born in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

on New Zealand's North Island, but grew up in the town of

Huntly Huntly ( gd, Srath Bhalgaidh or ''Hunndaidh'') is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, formerly known as Milton of Strathbogie or simply Strathbogie. It had a population of 4,460 in 2004 and is the site of Huntly Castle. Its neighbouring settlement ...

, where he started to play for Huntly South Rugby League Club at the age of six, in 1989. The following year, he joined Taniwharau Rugby League Club. Hohaia attended Huntly Primary, and

Southwell School Southwell School, is an independent co-educational Anglican boarding and day school set in 32 acres of park like grounds in central Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand. Southwell offers education to children aged 5 to 13 years. A numbe ...

and

St Paul's Collegiate School St Paul's Collegiate School is a private (independent) Anglican secondary school in Hamilton, New Zealand. Opened in 1959 originally as a boys only school, the school began admitting girls in years 12 to 13 in 1985, then girls in years 11 to 1 ...

, both in Hamilton. Rugby union was the winter sport at Southwell, and at St Paul's, Hohaia played union for the school on Saturdays and league for Taniwharau on Sundays. He played his first senior game for Taniwharau in 2001, aged 17. Hohaia represented

Waikato Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton City ...

in 2001 and was also selected for the Northern Districts side that lost to the touring French side. After six Premier Division games for Taniwharau, he signed for

Manurewa Marlins The Manurewa Marlins are a rugby league club based in Manurewa, New Zealand. In 2018 the Marlins will compete in Auckland Rugby League's Sharman Cup competition. Between 2000 and 2003 they competed in the national Bartercard Cup competition. N ...

Playing career

National Rugby League

Lance was signed by the

and he moved up to Auckland. He made his début in Round 4 2002 against the

North Queensland Cowboys The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest town in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL). Sinc ...

. Hohaia played for the Warriors from the interchange bench in their 2002 NRL Grand Final loss to the

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won ...

. Hohaia also made his international début for the Kiwis in 2002. Hohaia had great utility value and was often used by the Warriors at dummy half. However this utility value worked against Lance, as he struggled to claim a regular starting spot in the Warriors lineup and was often in and out of the team. When not selected by the first grade side he has played for the

Waicoa Bay Stallions The Wai-Coa-Bay Stallions were a rugby league team that represent the Upper Central Zone of the New Zealand Rugby League. The Zone comprises four districts: Waikato, Coastline Rugby League, Bay of Plenty, and Gisborne Tairawhiti Rugby League. The ...

and

Auckland Vulcans The Auckland Vulcans were an Auckland based rugby league club that participated in the New South Wales Cup. They were administered by the Rugby League Development Foundation. The team was selected from the Auckland Rugby League's Fox Memorial C ...

in the

Bartercard Cup The Bartercard Cup (successor of the Lion Red Cup) was the top level rugby league club competition in New Zealand from 2000 until 2007. For the entire life of the tournament it was sponsored by Bartercard. The cup was administered by the New Zeala ...

and

NSWRL Premier League The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserv ...

. In 2007 Hohaia spent most of the season at centre, due to injuries to the outside backs. However, in 2007 he was again selected for the Kiwis, this time for their tour of

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 is ...

. At the end of the season the

Catalans Dragons The Catalans Dragons (French: ''Dragons Catalans'', Catalan: ''Dracs Catalans'') are a professional rugby league club from Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales department, France. The team competes in the Super League and are the only team from outs ...

were rumored to be interested in signing Hohaia to replace the retiring

Stacey Jones Stacey William Jones (born 7 May 1976) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer, who has been named amongst the greatest New Zealand has ever produced. He played as a , but he has also briefly played at during his disting ...

, however Hohaia ultimately stayed with the Warriors. In 2008, Hohaia took over the fullback role from the injured

Wade McKinnon Wade McKinnon (born 12 February 1981) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. His position of preference was as a fullback. Playing career Early years Educated at St Dominic's College, P ...

. In August 2008, Hohaia was named in the New Zealand training squad for the

2008 Rugby League World Cup The 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup since its inauguration in 1954, and the first since the 2000 tournament. The tournament was held in Australia from 26 October, culminating in the final b ...

. Hohaia was promising in McKinnon's absence leaving a dispute whether he should be played at fullback for the 2008 preliminary final. In October 2008, he was named in the final 24-man

Kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), a nickname for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible berry * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of currency Kiwi or KIWI may also ref ...

squad. He played at fullback in every one of New Zealand's matches, including their victory in the final. Lance Hohaia NewZealand

In 2009, Hohaia was injured in the first game of the season against the Eels, He made his comeback in round 5 against the Roosters where he played fullback in Wade McKinnon's absence. Hohaia was named at fullback in the mid season ANZAC Test against the Kangaroos. He also was selected for the Kiwis 24 man squad for the Four Nations tournament in Europe. He was selected to play fullback against both Tonga and Australia and won the man of the match award in the test vs Australia. In the Four Nations tournament, he appeared at fullback during most of the games and was one of the Kiwis' best players in the tournament. His efforts earned him a try against Australia and a double against France; one of which was a one hundred metre dash. In 2010, Hohaia became the first-choice fullback ahead of

. He played his 150th first grade game for the club. On 12 April 2011, it was announced that Hohaia had signed a 4-year contract with

club, St. Helens from 2012. For the 2010 Anzac Test, Hohaia was selected to play for

at in their loss against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Super League

Whilst playing for English club St. Helens, Hohaia was selected to play for the Exiles against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in the first game of the 2012 International Origin series. St. Helens reached the

2014 Super League Grand Final The 2014 Super League Grand Final was the 17th official Grand Final and conclusive and deciding match of Super League XIX. It was held on Saturday 11 October 2014, at Old Trafford, Manchester with a 6pm kick-off time. The game was played between ...

and Hohaia was selected to play at stand-off. He was punched unconscious by Ben Flower in the first few minutes of the match and had to leave the field for the remainder of the 14–6 victory over the

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 ...

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...

. He retired from rugby on 29 April 2015 because of recurrent concussion symptoms. Post retirement from rugby he moved to

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

Legacy

In 2015, he was named as Taniwharau's best player of their first 70 years.

Coaching

On 30 April 2021, it was announced that he had taken the head coach role of new US club

Austin Armadillos The North American Rugby League (NARL) is an unsanctioned rugby league club competition in North America. At launch, the league announced fourteen teams; twelve from United States and two from Canada. An inaugural season was planned for 2021 ...

in the inaugural season of the

North American Rugby League The North American Rugby League (NARL) is an unsanctioned rugby league club competition in North America. At launch, the league announced fourteen teams; twelve from United States and two from Canada. An inaugural season was planned for 2021 ...

for 2021.

References

External links

NZ Warriors ProfileSaints Heritage Society profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hohaia, Lance 1983 births Living people Austin Armadillos coaches Auckland rugby league team players Exiles rugby league team players Manurewa Marlins players New Zealand Māori rugby league players New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league coaches New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England New Zealand Warriors players Northern Districts rugby league team players People educated at St Paul's Collegiate School Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league utility players Rugby league players from Hamilton, New Zealand St Helens R.F.C. players Taniwharau Rugby League Club players Waicoa Bay Stallions players Waikato rugby league team players