Frano Botica
Birth name | Frano Michael Botica | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 3 August 1963 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Mangakino, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 175 cm (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 75 kg (11 st 11 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Westlake Boys High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notable relative(s) | Ben Botica (son) Jacob Botica (son) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby league career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Frano Michael Botica (born 3 August 1963) is a New Zealand-Croatian rugby union and rugby league coach[1][2] and former player in both codes, who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He is the head coach of the Philippines sevens team.
He represented New Zealand at both codes, and later also played for Croatia in two rugby union World Cup qualifying matches.
Rugby union
Born in Mangakino, New Zealand, Botica played rugby union for club side North Shore, New Zealand provincial side North Harbour, as well as Llanelli in Wales, and spent a period in France.
Botica played 7 test matches between 1986 and 1989 including two test matches in France. Botica was a member of the All Blacks World Cup winning squad of 1987 and toured with the All Blacks to Britain in 1989 and played in several of the mid-week matches.
Botica appeared for the
He played for New Zealand sevens in eight international tournaments between 1985 and 1988, and was part of the first New Zealand team to win a Hong Kong Sevens title in 1986.
In the early part of his rugby union career he was a rival to
Rugby league
Club career
Botica joined Wigan (Heritage № 855) in British rugby league in 1990. While at Wigan he became a prolific points scorer and the fastest man in the history of British league to reach 1,000 points.
In 1991 he played for the New Zealand Māori side in his first match of rugby league in New Zealand.[3]
During the 1991–92 season, he played for defending champions Wigan on the wing in their 21–4 victory against the visiting Australian champions Penrith in the 1991 World Club Challenge played at Anfield in Liverpool.
During the 1992-93 season, Botica played at Five-eighth for Wigan in the 1992 World Club Challenge against the 1992 Winfield Cup premiers, the Brisbane Broncos. Brisbane became the first Australian side to win the World Club Challenge in England when they defeated Wigan 22–8 at Wigan's Central Park.
Botica played
He scored 3 conversions in Wigan's 15–8 victory over
Botica played in the 1994 World Club Challenge against the Broncos again, this time at the ANZ Stadium in Brisbane. Wigan reversed the 1992 result with a 20–14 win in front of a WCC record attendance of 54,220 fans, including a number of Wigan supporters who had travelled to Australia to watch the game. Known as a very accurate goal kicker, Botica kicked four goals from four attempts on the night.
Botica set a new record for most goals in a season for Wigan when he kicked 186 during the
International
Botica played in seven internationals for New Zealand between 1991 and 1993.
He made his test début at
Botica's last two tests came during the Kiwis'
Despite eventually becoming a five-eighth in rugby league, Botica spent much of his early time in the 13-aside code, including five of his seven tests for New Zealand, at fullback or on the wing.
Return to union
When rugby union became openly professional, Botica returned to the 15-a-side code to play for Llanelli in Wales and then in France. In 1997 and 1998 he played for Croatia in two World Cup qualifying matches. In his late 30s he returned for the North Harbour Rugby Union in New Zealand and played several matches, mainly off the bench.
Later years
In 2009 Botica worked with the
In 2016, Botica became head coach of the Philippines national rugby sevens team.[13] He is a real estate agent, working in Auckland.[14]
References
- ^ "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ "Coach Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ Lion Red Rugby League Annual 1991 New Zealand Rugby League, 1991. p.116
- ^ "1992–1993 Lancashire Cup Final". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^ "23rd January 1993: Bradford 8 Wigan 15 (Regal Trophy Final)". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^ "28th January 1995: Warrington 10 Wigan 40 (Regal Trophy Final)". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^ "RECORDS" Archived 28 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine at wiganwarriors.com
- ^ Will our home-grown talent win the battle with foreign imports? Yorkshire Post, 9 February 2009
- ^ Premiers stopped – Vodafone Warriors 26, Manly 24 Archived 25 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine Warriors Official Site, 22 March 2009
- The Dominion Post. 25 August 2009. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
- ^ "VERSATILE, YOUNG NEW ZEALAND BACK SIGNS FOR HARLEQUINS". [www.quins.co.uk]. 17 April 2012. Archived from the original on 26 June 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
- ^ "Dragons: RGC 1404 duo Tiaan Loots & Jacob Botica sign". BBC Sport. 2 May 2018.
- ^ Carson, Jonathan (29 May 2016). "From the streets to the stadium: The rugby boy of Manila". stuff.co.nz. Fairfax New Zealand Limited. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
- ^ "Profile at nzwarriors.com". nzwarriors.com. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.