Radike Samo
Loose Forward
Profile
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Height:
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197cm
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Weight:
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117kg
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Date Of Birth:
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09/07/1976
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Place of Birth:
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Nadi, Fiji
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Rugby Career
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Senior Club:
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Queensland Reds
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Stats
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Test Rugby Caps:
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23
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Test Rugby Points:
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15 (3t)
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Test Rugby Debut:
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2004 v Scotland, Melbourne
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The remarkable Radike Samo jetted out on his third Spring Tour in 2012, eight years after his first. The seemingly ageless warhorse strength and stature will be hard to match by any man in the 2013 British & Irish Lions squad.
A formidable asset for the Qantas Wallabies and the Queensland Reds, the popular 36-year-old wound up featured in all six matches of the new expanded Castrol EDGE Rugby Championship in 2012.
Although his 2012 comeback was impressive, it pales in comparison with the previous year’s astonishing resurrection, which saw Samo resume his Test career an unbelievable 2456 days after it had appeared to end.
A fringe player for the Reds at the start of 2011, the popular 36-year-old ended the year by being acknowledged by the International Rugby Board, when awarded Try of the Year at the annual awards night which brought the curtain down on the Rugby World Cup. The Samo try against New Zealand in the 2011 Tri Nations decider, where the remarkable Fijian ran the ball in from near halfway, was the signature moment of a stellar season which also saw him win the Tri Nations and Super Rugby titles, as well as returning to his childhood roots by starting a Test match for the Qantas Wallabies on the wing.
The former Fijian Under-19 reps’ reintroduction to the Test arena came off the bench against South Africa in Durban during Australia’s 14-9 win over the Springboks in the 2011 Tri Nations. While the cap was the seventh of Samo’s Wallaby career, it came a scarcely believable seven years after he had played his sixth international against Scotland on the 2004 Spring Tour.