Trevor Leota (born 8 February 1975) is a New Zealand-born former

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 it ...

player for

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); ...

. He currently coaches at the Footscray Bulldogs in Melbourne, Australia. Leota 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 ...

, New Zealand, and won 30 caps for

Career

He is a hooker and has been widely recognised as one of the hardest tacklers in the game. He made his debut for

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); ...

in 1995 during a tour of the UK. He caught

Nigel Melville Nigel David Melville (born 6 January 1961) is a former England national rugby union team scrum half and captain and currently serves as Director of Professional Rugby for Rugby Football Union. Melville became the youngest player to captain E ...

's eye and was signed by

Wasps A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. ...

in 1997, where he quickly became something of a cult figure for his uncompromising approach on the field, his colourful hair styles and his friendly nature off the pitch. Whilst at Wasps he helped them win the

Anglo-Welsh Cup The Anglo-Welsh Cup (), was a cross-border rugby union knock-out cup competition that featured the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and the four Welsh regions. It was a created as a replacement for the RFU Knockout Cup, which featured only English clubs ...

in 1999 and 2000; scoring a try in the latter final. For two weeks prior to the 2004 Heineken Cup final,

strength and conditioning coach Paul Stridgeon moved into Leota's house to prevent him from indulging his passion for buckets of KFC. He helped Wasps win a hat-trick of Premiership titles in 2003, 2004 and 2005, playing in all three finals (2005 as a replacement). He is a second cousin of Va'aiga Tuigamala and a former member of the same New Zealand schoolboys side as

Jonah Lomu Jonah Tali Lomu (12 May 1975 – 18 November 2015) was a New Zealand professional rugby union player. Lomu is considered to have been the first true global superstar of rugby, and consequently had a huge impact on the game. He is widely regarde ...

and

Christian Cullen Christian Mathias Cullen (born 12 February 1976) is a retired New Zealand rugby union player. He played most of his rugby at fullback for New Zealand (the All Blacks), for the Hurricanes in the Super 12, and for Manawatu, Wellington and later ...

. He is a distant cousin of heavyweight boxer

David Tua Faumuina To'aletai Mafaufau David Tua (born 21 November 1972), best known as David Tua, is a Samoan-New Zealand former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2013. A highly ranked heavyweight contender for most of his career, Tua was kno ...

. He played for the Cheetahs. He has previously played for Auckland and Te Atatū. He previously played for

Stade Montois Stade Montois is a French rugby union team that currently is playing in Pro D2, the second level of the country's professional league system. They were founded in 1908 and play in yellow and black. They are based in Mont-de-Marsan, the capit ...

in the French

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

. He was a member of Samoa's 1999 World Cup squad and played for the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be les ...

in May 2001. He was also one of the only

players allowed to play

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 ...

over the 2004 summer season in order to keep his weight down. He played for

West London Sharks West London Sharks RLFC was a rugby league team based in Chiswick, London. West London Sharks are now playing at Chiswick RFU, Dukes Meadow, in Chiswick under the name of South West London Chargers. They compete in the South Premier Division of t ...

in the

Rugby League Conference The Rugby League Conference (RLC) (also known as the Co-operative Rugby League Conference as a result of sponsorship from The Co-operative Group), was a series of regionally based divisions of amateur rugby league teams spread throughout England ...

. In 2010 he joined Welsh rugby league club

Bridgend Blue Bulls The Blue Bulls (known as Bridgend Blue Bulls RLFC between 2003 and 2012) are a rugby league side based in Pyle, Wales. They play in the Welsh Premier of the Rugby League Conference. They are the most successful amateur rugby league team in Wal ...

in the

Rugby League Conference Welsh Premier The South Wales Premiership is the league for amateur clubs in southern Wales. Previously it was part of the Rugby League Conference but became standalone in 2012. History The Rugby League Conference was founded in 1997 as the ''Southern Conf ...

. On 28 August 2010 he played in a friendly match for Nuneaton Rugby Club against Blackheath, playing prop.

References

External links

Wasps profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leota, Trevor Barbarian F.C. players 1975 births Living people Bridgend Blue Bulls players Samoa international rugby union players Stade Montois Rugby players Wasps RFC players Cheetahs (rugby union) players Free State Cheetahs players New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in South Africa Expatriate rugby union players in France Expatriate rugby union players in England Expatriate rugby union players in Wales New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in South Africa New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in France New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Wales New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent Rugby union hookers 1999 Rugby World Cup players