Radike Samo (born 9 July 1976 in

Nadi Nadi (pronounced ) is the third-largest conurbation in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 42,284 at the most recent census, in 2007. A 2012 estimate showed that the population had ...

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

) is a retired

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 ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player. He plays lock,

flanker Flanker may refer to: * Flanker (perfume), a newly created perfume sharing attributes of an existing one * Flanker (rugby union), a position in rugby union (not found in rugby league) * ''Su-27 Flanker'' (video game), a 1996 computer game modelin ...

, number 8 and can even play on the wing.

Rugby career

Between 2000 and 2006 Samo played 35 games for the

ACT Brumbies The ACT Brumbies (known from 2005–2022 as simply the Brumbies) is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), The team competes in Super Rugby and named for the brumby, feral horses whi ...

. He played with the Fiji Under-19's national team before winning 6 caps for the

Wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and so ...

in 2004. In the summer of 2006, he signed a two-year contract with French giants

Stade Français Stade Français Paris Rugby () is a French professional rugby union club based in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The club plays in the Top 14 domestic league in France and is one of the most successful French clubs of the modern era. The ...

after rejecting an offer from

Cardiff Blues Cardiff Rugby ( cy, Rygbi Caerdydd) are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby competitions. Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms ...

. He scored a try on his debut with the Paris team after just 6 minutes (v

ASM Clermont Auvergne Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne () is a French rugby union club from Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes that currently competes in Top 14, the top level of the French league system. Clermont are two times French ...

, 30 August 2006, 45-15) and the winning try in the French Championship final against the same team in

Stade de France The Stade de France (, ) is the national stadium of France, located just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. Its seating capacity of 80,698 makes it the sixth-largest stadium in Europe. The stadium is used by the France national foot ...

on 9 June 2007, after scoring against Biarritz Olympique in the semi final, both times coming off the bench. In April 2010, he returned from Japan to play for the Southern Districts Rebels in the Shute Shield competition, before joining the Queensland Reds on a short-term contract as cover for James Horwill. He started off slowly but after several games he was dubbed "outstanding" by Reds coach Ewen Mckenzie. He continued with the Reds in 2011, playing in the team's

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

final triumph on his 35th birthday. The following day it was announced he had been called up to the Wallabies 40-man squad for the Test against Samoa, and TriNations series against New Zealand and South Africa. He scored his first test try for the Wallabies during the final Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup match against the All Blacks in Brisbane on 27 August 2011. This try was later selected as the

IRPA Try of the Year The IRP Men's Try of the Year is an accolade awarded annually by World Rugby at the World Rugby Awards. The International Rugby Players (IRP) – formerly International Rugby Players Association – select the nominees from which the winner is d ...

2011. At 35 years old, Samo is the oldest player to play for Australia in a Tri-Nations match. He, unusually, played on the wing for the Wallabies

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

match with

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, in place of the injured

Drew Mitchell Drew Alan Mitchell (born 26 March 1984) is a former Australian rugby union professional player. He played on the wing or as fullback. Up to the 2006 season he played for the Queensland Reds. He played for the Western Force for the 2007–09 Sup ...

. It was announced on 16 January 2015 that he had signed with the Melbourne Rebels. In 2015, he played for Melbourne Rebels in Super Rugby and Queensland Country in National Rugby Championship. In 2016, he played in the Queensland Premier Rugby competition. In 2017, he played for Brisbane City in National Rugby Championship.

Representative record

* Super 12/14 debut: 2000 v Reds, Canberra * Test debut: 2004 v Scotland, Melbourne

Achievements

* Won 2001 & 2004 Super 12 Championship with ACT Brumbies * Test Rugby Debut: 2004 v Scotland * 2007 French Top 14 Champion with Stade Français * Won 2011 Super 15 Championship with Queensland Reds * Recalled into 2011 Wallabies 40-man Tri-nations and Bledisloe Cup squad after a 7-year absence * Member of Wallabies 2011 Rugby World Cup squad * Won 3rd place with the Wallabies in the 2011 World Cup. * IRB try of the year award 2011 * Recalled into the Wallabies 30-man squad for the 2012 Bledisloe Cup and inaugural rugby championship.

References

External links

Queensland Reds profileWallabies profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samo, Radike 1976 births Australian rugby union players Australian people of I-Taukei Fijian descent Australia international rugby union players ACT Brumbies players Queensland Reds players Melbourne Rebels players Hanazono Kintetsu Liners players Stade Français players Rugby union flankers Rugby union number eights World Rugby Awards winners Australian expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in France Expatriate rugby union players in Japan Australian expatriate sportspeople in France Fijian emigrants to Australia Sportspeople from Nadi Living people Queensland Country (NRC team) players Brisbane City (rugby union) players