Tony Tatupu
Kuripitone "Tony" Tatupu is a former professional rugby league footballer. He played as a centre and in the second-row and represented both New Zealand and Western Samoa.[1] Tatupu is the uncle of the rugby league footballer; Matthew Wright.
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| Full name | Kuripitone Tatupu | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 26 July 1969 New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 190 cm (6 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 98 kg (15 st 6 lb; 216 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Centre, Second-row | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Playing career
Tatupu first played for the Mt Albert Lions in the Auckland competition before joining the North Harbour Sea Eagles for the 1994 Lion Red Cup season. Between 1991 and 1993 he played 12 games for Auckland.[2] From there he joined the Auckland Warriors for their inaugural season in the Australian Rugby League competition. Along with Nigel Vagana he joined the Warrington Wolves in the Super League competition in 1997 before returning to the Warriors for another two seasons.
In 2000 he returned to England to finish his career at the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats. He stayed with the club during a time of financial turbulence mid-way through the 2000 season which saw all players aged over 24 released and then re-signed on limited wages.
Representative career
Tatupu represented Samoa at two World Cups, and two Pacific Cups. He was named in the 1992 Pacific Cups team of the tournament.
Later years
He now serves as a New Zealand Police officer and represented the New Zealand Police at the inaugural Police World Cup.[3][4]
Tatupu's son Shem has been signed by Australian Football League (AFL) club Hawthorn as an international rookie.[5]
References
- "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- Richard Becht. A New Breed Rising: The Warriors Winfield Cup Challenge. Auckland, HarperCollins, 1994. ISBN 1-86950-154-3. p.183
- "Kiwis hold off gallant Aussie police outfit". finda.com.au. 13 November 2008. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2009.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - "Getting it on - Station of Origin". warriors.co.nz. 13 July 2009. Archived from the original on 26 July 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
- Worthington, Sam. "Wayne Schwass tips Kiwis to make AFL impact". Stuff.co.nz. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 12 May 2013.