Marino Mikaele-Tu'u

Marino Mikaele-Tu'u (born 6 November 1997) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays as a loose forward for the Highlanders in Super Rugby and Hawke's Bay in New Zealand's domestic National Provincial Championship competition.[1][2]

Marino Mikaele-Tu'u
Date of birth (1997-11-06) 6 November 1997
Place of birthWellington, New Zealand
Height192 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight113 kg (17 st 11 lb; 249 lb)
SchoolHastings Boys' High School
Notable relative(s)Liana Mikaele-Tu'u (sister)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Number 8, Flanker
Current team Hawke's Bay
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016–2023 Hawke's Bay 61 (77)
2018–2023 Highlanders 47 (30)
2024– Sagamihara DynaBoars 0 (0)
Correct as of 21 October 2023
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016–2017 New Zealand U20 13 (5)
2022 All Blacks XV 1 (0)
Correct as of 5 November 2022

Early career

Mikaele-Tu'u was born in Wellington and moved to Hawke's Bay at the age of 11. He has a twin brother, Antonio, and a younger sister, Liana, who also play first class rugby.[3]

Mikaele-Tu'u attended Hastings Boys' High School and was one of the standout players for their First XV team in 2014 and 2015. Mikaele-Tu'u played age-grade rugby for Hawke's Bay[4] and also played for the Hurricanes U18 team in 2015.[5]

Senior career

In 2016, Mikaele-Tu'u was - for the first time - named in the Hawke's Bay Mitre 10 Cup squad.[6] He made his Magpies debut, off the bench, on 20 August 2016 against Wellington.[7] While he played only two games in his first season, he has since established himself as a regular starter for the Magpies.

Although Mikaele-Tu'u wasn't named in the Highlanders' squad for the 2018 Super Rugby season, he was soon called up as an injury replacement for James Lentjes.[8] He made his Super Rugby debut - replacing Dan Pryor on the bench - against the Stormers on 9 March 2018.[9]

Two months later, the Highlanders announced they had signed Mikaele-Tu'u for 2019 and 2020.[10] He didn't get much game time in 2019 - he played only two games - but had a break-out season in 2020. He cemented himself in the Highlanders' starting line-up and was one of the form New Zealand loose-forwards in Super Rugby, that year.[11]

Mikaele-Tu'u was again named in the Highlanders' squad for the 2021 Super Rugby season.[12]

On 1 June 2023, the Highlanders announced on their social media that Mikaele-Tu'u would leave the franchise at the end of the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season to play in Japan for Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars.[13] That same day, the Japan Rugby League One club confirmed the signing.[14] Mikaele-Tu'u played 47 Super Rugby games and scored 6 tries during his 6 seasons at the Highlanders.

International career

In 2014, Mikaele-Tu'u was named in New Zealand Barbarians Schools' team that played matches against Australian Schools and Fiji Schools.[15] The following year, he was named in the New Zealand Secondary Schools team for a three-match international series in Australia.[16] He played in all three games.

Mikaele-Tu'u was named in the New Zealand Under-20 squad for the 2016 Oceania Rugby Under 20 Championship and played in both matches of that year's series against Australia.[17] He was also part of the squad for the 2016 World Rugby Under 20 Championship in England.[18] He played in all 5 games in a campaign that saw New Zealand finish at a disappointing 5th place.[19]

In 2017, Mikaele-Tu'u enjoyed more success with the New Zealand Under 20 team. He was named in the squad for the 2017 Oceania Rugby Under 20 Championship, which that year consisted of tests against Australia, Fiji and Samoa.[20] He played in two of the three games, and New Zealand retained the Oceania title.[21]

On 8 May 2017, Mikaele-Tu'u was named in the New Zealand Under-20 squad for the 2017 World Rugby Under 20 Championship in Georgia.[22] He played in all New Zealand's games, including the record 64-17 win over England in the final. New Zealand claimed its 6th World Rugby U20 Championship title that year.[23]

On 5 December 2020, Mikaele-Tu'u - who is of Samoan descent - played for the Moana Pasifika team in a one-off match against the Māori All Blacks in Hamilton.[24][25]

After an outstanding season playing for the Highlanders, Mikaele-Tu'u was, on 10 October 2022, named in the All Blacks XV squad for two matches against Ireland A and the Barbarians during their Northern Tour.[26] He made his debut for the side on 4 November 2022 against Ireland A.[27] The All Blacks XV won the game 47–19.

References
  1. "Marino Mikaele-Tu'u Highlanders Player Profile". Highlanders. 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  2. "2023 Magpies squad release". Hawke's Bay Rugby Union. 5 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  3. "Hawke's Bay rugby: Big night for Mikaele-Tu'u family". Hawke's Bay Today. 20 September 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  4. "Attributes of home offer Bay U20 players stable footing". Hawke's Bay Today. 6 April 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  5. "Canes U18 team named for Crusaders clash" (Press release). Hurricanes. 11 July 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  6. "Magpies 2016 squad named" (Press release). Hawke's Bay Rugby Union. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  7. "Hawke's Bay v Wellington match commentary". espn.co.uk. 20 August 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  8. "Hawke's Bay loosie to replace Lentjes in Highlanders". Otago Daily Times. 29 November 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  9. "Smith looking to Canterbury clash". Otago Daily Times. 10 March 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  10. "Highlanders continue to bolster squad for 2019" (Press release). Highlanders. 8 May 2018. Archived from the original on 8 May 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  11. "Sunday profile: Patience pays dividends for Magpies loose forward Marino Mikaele-Tu'u". Stuff New Zealand. 13 September 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  12. "Highlanders name squad for 2021" (Press release). Highlanders. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  13. @highlandersteam (1 June 2023). "We say Sayonara to our boy @marinomikaeletuu , who'll leave us for the Mitsubishi Dynaboars after this season. 6 years Marino has served in a Highlanders jersey, and he's been an absolute weapon off the scrums". Retrieved 4 June 2023 – via Instagram.
  14. "マリノ・ミカエリ＝トゥウ選手加入のお知らせ" [Announcement of Marino Mikaele-Tu'u joining] (Press release) (in Japanese). Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars. 1 June 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  15. "New Zealand Schools and Barbarian Schools teams named". allblacks.com (Press release). 24 September 2014. Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  16. "NZ Schools and Barbarians Schools teams named for international games". Te Ao Māori News. 14 September 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  17. "New Zealand Under 20 side named for Oceania tournament" (Press release). All Blacks. 5 April 2016. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  18. "NZ squad named for World Rugby Under 20 Championship". allblacks.com (Press release). 10 May 2016. Archived from the original on 6 July 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  19. "NZU20 finish with big win over Australia". allblacks.com. 26 June 2016. Archived from the original on 27 June 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  20. "Final squad for Oceania U20 tournament named". allblacks.com (Press release). 18 April 2017. Archived from the original on 19 April 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  21. "NZ Under 20's retain Oceania title". allblacks.com. 7 May 2017. Archived from the original on 8 May 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  22. "NZ Under 20's named for Rugby World Championship". allblacks.com (Press release). 8 May 2017. Archived from the original on 22 December 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  23. "Under-20s triumph in record win over England". allblacks.com. 19 June 2017. Archived from the original on 16 July 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  24. "Moana Pasifika names side to face Māori All Blacks". allblacks.com (Press release). 3 December 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  25. "High flying Magpies Tu'u and Fakatava to represent Moana Pasifika". Hawke's Bay Today. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  26. "Patrick Tuipulotu to lead All Blacks XV on Northern Tour". allblacks.com (Press release). 10 October 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  27. "All Blacks XV name team for historic first match against Ireland A". allblacks.com (Press release). 3 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
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