John Akurangi
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| Full name | John Francis Akurangi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 24 April 1970 Hastings, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 246 lb (112 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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John Francis Akurangi (born 24 April 1970) is a New Zealand former professional rugby union player.[1]
Akurangi was born in Hastings and is an old boy of St Peter's College, Auckland.[2]
A NZ Maori representative front-rower, Akurangi was in the Auckland Blues squad that won the inaugural Super 12 competition in 1996, before stints with the Crusaders and Chiefs.[3] He played professional rugby overseas at Stade Français and SU Agen during the 1990s, then had a season with the Leicester Tigers in 1999–2000.[4]
Akurangi received a fine in 2002 for cultivating and possessing cannabis, a conviction that cost him a $1 million contract to coach a Japanese club.[5] He then lived in Sydney for several years and during this period had an acting cameo as a bouncer on Underbelly: The Golden Mile.[6] After moving to Italy in 2010 to coach rugby, Akurangi suffered a heart attack and had a stent inserted, which caused further issues five years later when it tore an aorta near his heart. He underwent seven hour surgery in Milan and has subsequently recovered.[7]