Laisenia Katonawale
Date of birth(1963-11-14)14 November 1963[1]
Place of birthSaunaka, Nadi, Fiji
Date of death14 January 2019(2019-01-14) (aged 55)
Place of deathSydney, New South Wales, Australia
Height5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight187 lb (85 kg)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker
Current team --
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
1997 Beecroft Rugby Club[2] ()
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
19??-1997 Suva ()
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1991 Fiji 4 (0)

Laisenia Katonawale known also as Laisenia Kato (Saunaka, Nadi,[3] 14 November 1966-Sydney, 13 January 2019[4]) was a Fijian former rugby union footballer, he played as flanker.

Career

He played for the Saunaka village team, with which he won several tournaments in the country, and for the Nadi district team, with which he won the Farebrother-Sullivan Trophy in 1991. He played as blindside and openside flanker. In 1987 he was the first player from the Saunaka village to play for World XV.[5]

He debuted in a test match against Tonga, in Suva, on 8 June 1991. Katonawale also played in the 1991 Rugby World Cup for the Fiji national team, playing all the three pool stage matches in the tournament.[6] He retired from the international career after the 1991 Rugby World Cup, Later he played for the Suva District team and for Beecroft club from Sydney in 1997, winning the Paul Wharton Trophy as one of the best players of the team.[7] After terminating his career, he worked for the Australian branch of Foxconn.[8]

Katonawale died on 13 January 2019,[9] he is survived by his wife and his three children, of which, Peceli, who became a rugby player for the Nadi district team.[10]

Notes

  1. ↑ Fiji 1991 Rugby World Cup squad
  2. ↑ 1st Grade The Paul Warton Trophy - Beecroft Rugby Club
  3. ↑ "Kato a tough guy: Waki". Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  4. ↑ "Death notice on Facebook". Facebook. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  5. ↑ "Kato a tough guy: Waki". Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  6. ↑ "Laisenia Katonawale". ESPN scrum. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  7. ↑ "1st Grade The Paul Warton Trophy". Beecroft Rugby Club, 1st Division Suburban Rugby Union - Sydney Australia. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  8. ↑ "Laisenia Kato". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  9. ↑ "Kato a tough guy: Waki". Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  10. ↑ Fijivillage. "Dakuwaqa to debut for Nadi". www.fijivillage.com. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
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