Jeff Karika

Jeff Karika
Birth nameJeffrey Archer Karika
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight85 kg (187 lb)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker
Provincial / State sides
Years Team Apps (Points)
1992-1999 Hawke's Bay 53 (80)
1997-1998 Central Vikings 20 (35)
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1997-1999 Cook Islands

Jeffrey Archer Karika is a former New Zealand rugby player who played internationally for the Cook Islands.

Biography

Karika made his debut in first-class rugby as a flanker for the Hawke's Bay team in 1992. He scored two tries in his first season.[1] In the 1997 season he began playing for the Central Vikings, a combined team of Hawke's Bay and Manawatu.[2] He was in the team that played the Vikings first ever game which was against the touring Fijian team.[3] Towards the end of the 1998 season, he tore two-thirds of the ligaments off his left thumb in a round-robin game against Nelson Bays and was out of play for the rest of the season.[4]

Karika was noted for his ability to outplay more established opposing openside flankers, despite being a lot shorter and a lot lighter than most flankers. His defensive work rate and ability to force turnovers was frequently recognised by rugby journalists.[5] He had the nickname "Turbo" and played internationally for the Cook Islands team in the late 1990s, including qualification matches for the 1999 Rugby World Cup.[6]

After retiring from playing, Karika was a development team coach for the Hawke's Bay Rugby Union.[7]

His daughter Sarah won the gold medal for the under-19 girls beach relay team at the 2011 national surf lifesaving championships.[5]

References

  1. ^ Howitt, Bob (1992). Radio New Zealand Sport Rugby Annual 1992. Auckland: Moa Beckett. pp. 102–3. ISBN 1 86947 114 8.
  2. ^ Lampp, Peter (31 May 1997). "Vikings run a tight ship". Evening Standard. p. 32.
  3. ^ "Touring Fijians aspire to pull off miracle". Evening Standard. 31 May 1997. p. 6.
  4. ^ Lampp, Peter (19 October 1998). "Tearaway Karika may be ready for final". Evening Standard. p. 20.
  5. ^ a b Hurndell, Shane (18 March 2011). "'Turbo' set to go non-stop again". Hawke's Bay Today. p. A12.
  6. ^ Lampp, Peter (4 September 1997). "'Turbo' set to go non-stop again". Evening Standard. p. 20.
  7. ^ "New blood in Hawke's Bay teams". The Dominion Post. 26 May 2003. p. D8.