Born: 21 January, 1975 – Auckland
Test record: 25 Tests (1996-2000) – 3 tries (12 points)
Tours: 1998 tour of Great Britain, 1999 Tri Nations, 2000 World Cup, 2005 Tri Nations tour

Front-row behemoth Joe Vagana was a permanent fixture for the Kiwis from 1996-2000, playing 25 consecutive Tests from his debut until his departure from Auckland Warriors after the 2000 World Cup.

Earmarked for the game’s heights after representing Junior Kiwis for three straight years (1992-94), the St Paul’s College product came through the grades with Richmond Rovers and starred for North Harbour Sea Eagles as a 19-year-old as they captured the inaugural Lion Red Cup title in 1994.

Vagana had to bide his time in a logjam of Warriors props in 1995, but he made eight top-grade appearances for the fledgling club and turned out for Western Samoa at the World Cup at the end of the year.

A barnstorming tyro with limitless potential, Vagana tipped the scales at over 120kg but was phenomenally mobile and possessed excellent ball skills. He became a first-choice player for the Warriors in 1996 and played in all five Tests of the Kiwis’ post-season schedule off the bench, scoring a try in the second clash with Papua New Guinea and impressing as Great Britain was swept 3-0.

Vagana featured in New Zealand’s Test wins over Super League Australia in 1997 and a full-strength Kangaroos outfit in 1998 at North Harbour, the latter alongside debutant, cousin and Warriors teammate Nigel Vagana.

A top performer in a battling Warriors team, Vagana was named the club’s Player of the Year and nailed down a spot as starting Test prop for the Kiwis’ late-1998 campaign – two matches against Australia and a historic series win in Great Britain.

The hulking enforcer was equally important to New Zealand’s impressive 1999 exploits: a gutsy Anzac Test loss in Sydney, wins over Australia and Great Britain in the preliminary Tri Nations match, and the razor-thin defeat to the Kangaroos in the tournament final.

Vagana played in the heavy Anzac Test loss and all six matches of the Kiwis’ World Cup campaign in 2000, making his last Test appearance in the gallant loss to Australia in the final at Old Trafford. At loggerheads with Warriors’ new management, Vagana embarked on an eight-season stay with Bradford Bulls that would garner piles of silverware from almost 250 games.

Vagana played in five straight Super League grand finals (winning in 2001, 2003 and 2005, and losing in 2002 and 2004), two Challenge Cup finals (a loss in 2001 and a win in 2003) and three World Club Challenge victories (2002, 2004 and 2006).

He made one last appearance for the Kiwis, turning out against England A while the squad was in Britain for the 2005 Tri Nations.