Ruben Wiki
Personal information
Full name	Ruben James Wiki
Born	21 January 1973 (1973-01-21) (age 36)
	Auckland, New Zealand
Playing information
Height	186 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	104 kg (16 st 5 lb)
Position	Centre, Prop
Club
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
1993–04	Canberra Raiders	225	60	0	0	240
2005–08	NZ Warriors	90	12	0	0	48
	Total	315	72	0	0	288
Representative
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
1994–06	New Zealand	55	15	0	0	60
Source: Yesterday's Hero, RLP

Ruben Wiki, ONZM (born 21 January 1973 in South Auckland, New Zealand) is a former professional rugby league footballer who represented his country. Wiki currently holds the record for most number of international matches played. His sister, Germaine Wiki, has also represented the Kiwi Ferns.^[1]

[edit] Playing career

An Otahuhu Leopards junior, Wiki played first grade for the Canberra Raiders and New Zealand Warriors in the Australasian National Rugby League (NRL) competition.

Alongside close friend and future All Black captain Tana Umaga, Wiki wreaked havoc for the Junior Kiwis in 1992. In 1993 he played for Auckland.^[2]

In 1994, he teamed up with Kangaroo legend, Mal Meninga (who was recently listed in the Australian Rugby League's Team of the Century, as centre to score a premiership win for the Canberra Raiders. He was then involved in controversy when both the Canberra Raiders and new Auckland Warriors tried to register him for the 1995 season. After a long dispute Wiki stayed with Canberra where he would remain until 2004 before moving to the Warriors. In 2001 Wiki was banned for two matches after pleading guilty to a dangerous throw charge on Sydney prop Scott Logan.^[3]

Wiki joined the New Zealand Warriors in 2005. He became only the tenth player and first New Zealander to play 300 first grade games in the NRL when he started at prop in the Warriors 28-26 victory against the Wests Tigers on the 29 June 2008.

Wiki snubed the chance to join a European Super League side for the 2009 season, and will enter into retirement.^[4] He will play his final game for the All Golds as part of the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.^[5]

[edit] Kava

Wiki drinks a bowl of the Pacific island drink kava after each match, which he credits for his longevity in the game.^[6]

[edit] Representative Football

Wiki, of Samoan, Cook Islands and Maori heritage^[7], played 55 test matches for New Zealand between 1994 and 2006, the most test matches played by any rugby league footballer in the world (as at April 2008).^[8] He captained the New Zealand national rugby league team in 18 of those tests.^[8]

Wiki will probably be remembered most as the captain of the Kiwi team that scored an historic 24–0 win over the Kangaroos in 2005.^[8] This was the first series win since 1978 and the first time in 20 years that New Zealand had kept Australia scoreless in a test match.

During that same period, his former junior Kiwi team mate Tana Umaga, was also captaining his team, the All Blacks to an undefeated tour of the England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland.

[edit] Retirement

After playing his 55th test match in the 2006 Tri Nations final Ruben Wiki announced his retirement from the international game along with other New Zealand veterans Nigel Vagana and Stacey Jones. New Zealand lost the final in golden point extra time 12-16 after the scores were locked at 12-all after 80 minutes. In 2008 he came out of international retirement to play for the All Golds in a one off match against the New Zealand Maori rugby league team.

Wiki retired from first grade rugby league in 2008. Later that year he was an assistant to the New Zealand team which won the Rugby League World Cup.

In 2009 Wiki came out of retirement to play for the Samoan Residents in a one off match which raised money for the Samoan tsunami relief fund.^[9] His mother was Samoan.^[10][11]

[edit] Media

Wiki's biography, Ruben Wiki, was published in 2006.

In August 2009, Wiki appeared on the New Zealand travel program Intrepid Journeys with a trip to Laos.^[12]

[edit] Honours

In 2002 and 2003 Wiki was named the Canberra Raiders' player of the year. In 2006, he was named in a Kiwi All Time XIII at a gala awards dinner celebrating New Zealand's centenary of rugby league alongside his good friend Stacey Jones. Wiki and Jones are the only recent players to be named in the side with the majority of the players being from the "immortal" 1950-60s side and the destructive 1980s team.

Wiki was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) in 2007 for his services to rugby league.^[13]

[edit] Career highlights

• 2008 - New Zealand Warriors upsetting minor premiers the Melbourne Storm 18-15 in what was the first time an 8th placed team had defeated the 1st placed since 1999.
• 2008 - First New Zealander to reach 300 first grade NRL games
• 2008 - The oldest regular first grader in the NRL
• 55 test caps for Kiwis 1994-2006 before retiring from representative football
• 18 tests as Kiwi captain 2003-2006
• 2006 - Set a record for the most first grade NRL games by a New Zealander, surpassing Stephen Kearney's mark of 264 games.
• 2005 - Was awarded man of the match in his 50th test for the Kiwis. In the same match he also became the first player ever to receive 50 test caps for their country. New Zealand won this historic test against Australia 24-0 and consequently beat Australia for the first time in a series since 1953.
• 1994 - Won a premiership with the Canberra Raiders club.
• First Grade Debut: Round 11, Canberra v South Sydney at Canberra Stadium, 13 June 1993

[edit] References