Danny Kaleopa

Danny K. Kaleopa is a former Samoan rugby union player. He played as a flanker. He played for Auckland [rugby union team|Auckland], Nippon Steel, and Waitakere City. He also played for the Hawaii Harlequins from Hawai'i.

Career

His debut with Western Samoa was during a test match against Korea at Tokyo, on 8 April 1990. He was part of the 1991 [Rugby World Cup] roster. His last international appearance was in a test match against Fiji at Apia, on 5 June 1993.
In 1993, he played for the Samoa national [rugby sevens team|Samoa national team] at the first ever 1993 [Rugby World Cup Sevens|Rugby World Cup Sevens], taking part in a series of test matches on 28 March 1993, when the teams of New Zealand and Fiji were defeated, and in the game against the New Zealanders, he scored several tries.

In 2011, after Samoa's disastrous performance at the World Cup in New Zealand, Kaleopa supported team captain Mahonri Schwalger, who called for reforms in the Samoa Rugby Union and to understand the reasons for the Samoan failures. The reason for Schwalger's indignation was the scandalous behavior of the national team manager Mathew Vaea, who was fired from the national team for drunkenness and neglection of duty at the World Cup.
His daughter is the New Zealand swimmer Gabrielle Fa'amausili.