Willie Swann (born 1974) 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 and coach of Samoan heritage. He currently coaches the

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

New South Wales Cup 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 reserve ...

. He is a former

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 ...

international and vice-captain. He also played for the

Warrington Wolves The Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England, that competes in the Super League. They play rugby at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2004. Founded as Warrington Z ...

Leigh Centurions The Leigh Leopards are a professional rugby league club based in Leigh, Greater Manchester, England, who compete in the Betfred Super League. The club was founded in 1878, and is one of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern R ...

and the

Auckland 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 ...

Playing career

Swann was a

Marist Saints The Marist Saints is a rugby league club based in Mount Albert, New Zealand. They currently compete in the top grade in Auckland Rugby League, the Fox Memorial Premiership. History Founded in 1919, the Marist club first won the Fox Memorial in 1 ...

junior who played fifteen matches for the

Waitakere City Raiders The Waitakere City Raiders were a New Zealand rugby league club that represented Waitakere City in the Lion Red Cup from 1994 to 1996. Notable players Notable players included;Rick Andrew Anthony Edwards, Boycie Nelson, David Bailey, Ben Ly ...

in the 1994

Lion Red Cup The Lion Red Cup was a New Zealand domestic rugby league competition that ran from 1994 to 1996 sponsored by brewers Lion Nathan. It was created due to the increase in public awareness of domestic rugby league due to the Auckland Warriors being a ...

, scoring 29 points.''Lion Red Rugby League Annual 1994'',

New Zealand Rugby 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 ...

, 1994. p.121 He was a

Junior Kiwi 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 Supe ...

in 1993. He played for the

Colts in 1995. He was an Auckland Warrior 1995-1996 where he played a crucial role in laying a platform for the reserve grade to reach the 1996 grand final. For

, he played in both the

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

and 2000 World Cups scoring 5 points.

Later years

In 2006 and 2007 Swann worked as a supply and rugby teacher in

Great Sankey High School Great Sankey High School (GSHS) is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located in Warrington, Cheshire, England. It is a member of the Omega Multi-Academy Trust (OMAT). The school was first built in the 1970s a ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, England. He coached the G.S.H.S Year 10 (2006–07), rugby league team to both the North West and National finals, narrowly losing 19–18 in Uxbridge. Between 2009 and 2010 he was the head coach of the

East Coast Bays Barracudas The East Coast Bays Barracudas is a rugby league club based in Browns Bay, New Zealand. Currently, they compete in the Sharman Cup, the second division in Auckland Rugby League. Coached by Ken McIntosh and managed by Cameron Dick, the "Cudas" ...

alongside

Joe Vagana Joseph Sonny Vagana (born 21 January 1975), also known by the nickname of "Big Joe", is a former professional rugby league footballer who played as a Prop forward in the 1990s and 2000s. During his career Vagana played for the Auckland Warriors, ...

. He was an old boy at

Liston College Liston College is a school in Henderson, Auckland, New Zealand, for year seven to 13 boys and offers a Catholic education to its students. It was the second school opened by the Christian Brothers in Auckland. It was named after Archbishop Li ...

, and is now a teacher and dean there. In 2012, he was appointed 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 ...

new Development coach. He was originally appointed the Warriors Toyota Cup assistant coach for the 2013 season before taking a role as the

NSW Cup 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 ...

head coach. He was an assistant NSW Cup coach for the Warriors in 2015 and in 2016 he coached the

Mount Albert Lions The Mount Albert Lions are a rugby league club based in Mount Albert, New Zealand. The Lions home ground is at Fowlds Park. Their patron is the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark. In 2008 and 2009 the Lions won the Fox Memorial. ...

Personal life

His brother, Anthony Swann, and cousin,

Logan Swann Logan Swann (born 10 February 1975) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand. Swann is related to several other international rugby league players, notably cousins Willie Swann and Anthony Swann ...

, both also played rugby league professionally.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swann, Willie 1977 births Living people Auckland rugby league team coaches East Coast Bays Barracudas coaches Expatriate rugby league players in England Junior Kiwis players Leigh Leopards players Marist Saints players Mount Albert Lions coaches New Zealand expatriate rugby league players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England New Zealand people of I-Kiribati descent New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent New Zealand rugby league coaches New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand Warriors coaches People educated at Liston College Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league players from Auckland Samoa national rugby league team players Samoan rugby league players Waitakere rugby league team players Warrington Wolves players