Steven Tahurata Pokere (born 11 August 1958) is a former New Zealand

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

player. A second five-eighth and centre, Pokere represented Southland,

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 I ...

and

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 m ...

at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 198 ...

, from 1981 to 1985. He played 39 matches for the All Blacks including 18 internationals. In 2005, Pokere was sentenced to 2½ years in jail for conspiracy to defraud investors of $NZ4million, relating to a company that he ran with three others, all

Mormons Mormons are a Religious denomination, religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the mov ...

, that targeted fellow church members, many of whom were friends and family of the quartet.

References

1958 births Living people Rugby union players from Hāwera People educated at Southland Boys' High School New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand international rugby union players Southland rugby union players Auckland rugby union players Wellington rugby union players Rugby union centres New Zealanders convicted of fraud New Zealand Latter Day Saints {{NewZealand-rugbyunion-bio-1950s-stub