Clinton Toopi

Clinton James Te-Whata Toopi (born 29 February 1980) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. A New Zealand international representative centre, he played his club football in the National Rugby League for the New Zealand Warriors and the Gold Coast Titans, and in the Super League for the Leeds Rhinos. Clinton began coaching the Helensvale Hornets in 2021 and guided them to victory in the 2022 Gold Coast A Grade Competition.

Clinton Toopi
Personal information
Full nameClinton James Te-Whata Toopi[1]
Born (1980-02-29) 29 February 1980
Stratford, New Zealand
Playing information
Height185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight100 kg (15 st 10 lb) [2]
Rugby league
PositionCentre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1999–06 Auckland Warriors 129 57 0 0 228
2006–08 Leeds Rhinos 47 10 0 0 40
2010–11 Gold Coast Titans 27 6 0 0 24
Total 203 73 0 0 292
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2000–10 New Zealand Māori 4 2 0 0 8
2001–07 New Zealand 22 11 0 0 44
Rugby union
PositionCentre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2009 Bay of Plenty
Source: [3][4]

Rugby league career

Toopi was born in Stratford, New Zealand, and began his career playing rugby league with the junior ranks of the Mt Wellington and Otahuhu Leopards clubs. He played for Auckland South in the 1999 provincial competition.[5] His first grade career began with the then Auckland Warriors, débuting against the South Sydney Rabbitohs on 2 May 1999. He went on to play 119 games for the club, including the 2002 NRL Grand Final loss to the Sydney Roosters.

In 2000 Toopi was part of the Aotearoa Maori side that played at the World Cup.

Toopi represented New Zealand on twelve occasions between 2001 and 2005. Toopi played for the Kiwis 14 times. He scored three tries in one match against Australia in the 2005 Tri Nations.

On 31 May 2006 Leeds Rhinos announced the capture of Toopi for the 2007 season as a replacement for Chev Walker. On 17 July he was granted an early release from the New Zealand Warriors so he could join the Rhinos for the rest of the season, this was granted the day before the deadline to register players in Super League. He made his début on 4 August 2006 against Hull FC.[6]

Rugby union career

On 23 August 2008 Leeds released Toopi, due to a knee reconstruction that would keep him out of action for 9 months. He attracted interest from the Japanese rugby union club Sanyo Wild Knights, and expressed interest in joining the Manly Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League competition however he did not secure a contract.[7][8]

Toopi instead returned to New Zealand and switched to rugby union, joining the Whakatane Marist team in the Eastern Bay rugby union competition. On 18 June 2009 it was announced that he had made the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union's squad for the Air New Zealand Cup.[9] He agreed to join the Gold Coast Titans for 2010.

Return to league

During the 2010 pre-season Toopi trialed with the Gold Coast Titans.[10] He did enough to impress management and earn a one-year contract.[11] This was later extended for the 2011 season. He retired at the end of 2011.[12]

Toopi again played for the New Zealand Māori in 2010, captaining the side against England.[13]

Match Fit

In 2023, Toopi participated in season 3 of Match Fit, where former rugby players return to play against the Australian counterparts. He joined in the first season that featured former rugby league stars.[14] On episode 3, he revealed he currently resides in Gold Coast, Australia. Throughout the first third of the 15-week program, his heart rate kept topping out even though he feels no ill effects, which suggest he has lower than expected aerobic endurance, he thought it was due to jet lag.[15]

References
  1. TOOPI, CLINTON JAMES TE-WHATA 2001 - 2007 - KIWI #688 Archived 2 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine nzleague.co.nz
  2. "Clinton toopi - Jetstar Gold Coast Titans". Archived from the original on 4 April 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
  3. loverugbyleague
  4. "Clinton Toopi - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. 29 February 1980. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  5. Coffey, John and Bernie Wood Auckland, 100 years of rugby league, 1909–2009, 2009. ISBN 978-1-86969-366-4, p.323.
  6. "Warriors Website - News". Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 18 July 2006.
  7. Lawton, Aaron (5 April 2009). "Japanese scouts eye Toopi". Stuff.co.nz.
  8. "Former Manly mayor calls it a day". Goldcoast.com.au. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  9. Recycled Toopi into mix for Steamers Rotorua Daily Post, 18 June 2009
  10. "Elgey still preferred five-eighth". Goldcoast.com.au. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  11. Toopi signs NRL deal with Titans NRL.com, 5 March 2010
  12. Clinton Toopi set to retire after fainting in Gold Coast Titans game NRL game against Melbourne Storm Couriermail.com, 15 August 2011
  13. Maori draw with England New Zealand Herald, 16 October 2010
  14. "Match Fit Season 3 Ep 1 | SPORT | ThreeNow". www.threenow.co.nz. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  15. "Match Fit Season 3 Ep 3 | SPORT | ThreeNow". www.threenow.co.nz. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
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