Aaron Hopa
{{Use British English|date=August 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{more citations needed|date=June 2017}}
{{Infobox rugby biography
| image =
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1971|11|13}}
| birth_place =Hamilton
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1998|12|8|1971|11|13}}
| death_place =Sea, off Coromandel Peninsula
| height = {{convert|1.93|m|ftin|0|abbr=on}}
| weight = {{convert|98|kg|lbs|abbr=on}}
| ru_position =Loose forward
| years1 = 1995-1998
| clubs1 = Waikato
| apps1 =
| points1 =
| years2 = 1997-1998
| clubs2 = Chiefs
| apps2 =
| points2 =
| repyears1 = 1997
| repteam1 = {{nrut|New Zealand}}
| repcaps1 = 4
| reppoints1 =5
}}
Aaron Remana Hopa (13 November 1971 – 8 December 1998) was a New Zealand international rugby union player whose career was cut short when he died in a diving accident at sea.
Early life
Career
He was an All Black in 1997 and played four matches on that year's tour of Britain and Ireland.{{cite web|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=140|access-date=15 July 2022|title=All Black dead in diving accident|date=30 June 2000|work=The New Zealand Herald |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170326225535/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=140|archive-date=26 March 2017|url-status=dead}} He played for Waikato at provincial level including the Ranfurly Shield winning team in 1997 and he also played for the Chiefs in the Super 12. Hopa was outstanding in his position of loose forward.
Death
In 1998, Hopa drowned in an accident while on a diving expedition near Slipper Island, off the Coromandel Peninsula coast of Waikato. He was 27.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{All Blacks|399}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopa, Aaron}}
Category:New Zealand rugby union players
Category:New Zealand international rugby union players
Category:Rugby union players from Hamilton, New Zealand
Category:Waikato rugby union players
Category:Chiefs (Super Rugby) players
Category:Underwater diving deaths
Category:20th-century New Zealand people
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