Willie Poching Name Willie Poching      Position Assitant Coach Date of Birth 30/08/1973 Place of Birth Auckland Previous Club Wakefield Honours New Zealand     Leeds Career : Willie originally joined the Rhinos as a player at the start of the 2002 season and quickly became a crowd favourite. In his four year playing career he made 149 appearances and was part of the team who won the Super League title in 2004 as well as helping the team to their first ever World Club Championship a year later with a try against Canterbury Bulldogs in the final at Elland Road. Willie was forced to hang up his playing boots during the 2006 season, due to injury, but he was able to a brief comeback to make his final bow at Headingley Carnegie when he ran out with the team for the Festive Challenge on Boxing Day against his old club Wakefield. The unique qualities Willie had shown as a player and the leadership skills he had established through captaining Samoa and Wakefield ensured that he was a natural to take a coaching role with the club upon his retirement and in 2007 he was named as an Assistant Coach with the Rhinos. As well as his duties with the first team Willie will also coach the Academy team, where he will help mould the Rhinos’ future stars. Rugby Career : Willie was the Samoa captain in the World Cup in 2000, a role he went on to fulfil for Wakefield in 2001. He spent two seasons at Belle Vue before joining the Rhinos. In 2000 he played 21 games for the Wildcats, scored 5 tries and was the sides top offloader. He was rewarded with the captaincy for the game against St Helens when the Wildcats won 32-16, an honour which continued into the 2002 season. In his final season Willie played a further 24 games and scored 4 more tries. He started out with Marist, Mt Albert, Northcote in Auckland and lower grades for Brisbane Broncos. Willie represented Junior Kiwis in 1991-92 (captain in 1992) and then went onto represent Western Samoa at 1995 World Cup and Samoa at 2000 World Cup as captain. He was part of the inaugural Auckland team in 1995, before moving onto North Queensland 1996, Hunter Mariners 1997, St George 1998 and then coming to England and signing for Hunslet. He made 35 first grade appearances in Australia. One of Willies proudest moments in his career came in 2005 when he was selected to represent New Zealand when they played England at the Halliwell Jones Stadium. Personal Details : Willie's best mate in the game is Bradford Bull's prop Joe Vagana, his favourite TV programme is Eastenders, in his spare time he enjoys doing crosswords and sea fishing, his favourite film is a Kiwi film called Whale Rider and his sporting heroes are Magic Johnson, Pele, Michael Jordan and Francois Pienaar. To return to the main coach profiles page click here.