George Naoupu (born 4 September 1983) is a former professional

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player from

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. He played at number 8, as a flanker or in the second row. Naoupu's sister,

Julianna Naoupu Julianna Naoupu (born 1 March 1990) is a Samoan New Zealander who played for the Samoa national netball team and who plays in the ANZ Championship for the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic. She was a member of the Silver Ferns wider training squad s ...

, is a Samoan netball international.

Club career

Career in New Zealand

Naoupu's professional career began in 2004 with

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

, where he played for two seasons. He then joined

Tasman Makos The Tasman Rugby Union is the governing body for rugby union in Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere, a bay at the north end of the South Island in New Zealand. Headquartered in Nelson, TRU is New Zealand's newest provincial union, founded in 2006 with t ...

for a season before moving to

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is ...

. He made the breakthrough to

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

in 2008 with the Highlanders in his second season at Hawkes Bay.

Move to Ireland

Naoupu left Highlanders in 2009, moving to Irish provincial side

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

. Joining ahead of the 2009–10 season, Naoupu made his debut for the side in a

2009–10 European Challenge Cup The 2009–10 Amlin Challenge Cup was the 14th season of the European Challenge Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from six nations in European rugby. It started on 8 October 2009 at Sixways Stadium in Worcester, Engla ...

game with

Worcester Warriors Worcester Warriors Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union club, based in Worcester, England, that is currently in Administration (law), administration and which has been suspended and will be relegated from Premiership Rugby, the top ...

on 12 December 2009. He made his league debut in the province's

2009–10 Celtic League The 2009–10 Celtic League (known as the 2009–10 Magners League for sponsorship reasons) was the ninth season of the league now known as Pro12 and the fourth with Magners as title sponsor. The season began in September 2009 and ended with the G ...

game against Irish rivals

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

on 26 December that year, starting the game and playing the full 80 minutes. Naoupu played another seven league games for the side, starting in all of them and scoring a try. In Europe, Naoupu played six of Connacht's eight games as they reached the last four, and scored two tries against Olympus Madrid. He started for Connacht in the semi-final on 29 April 2010, where they were narrowly beaten by a

Jonny Wilkinson Jonathan Peter Wilkinson, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 25 May 1979) is an English former rugby union player. A Fly-half (rugby union), fly-half, he played for Newcastle Falcons and RC Toulonnais, Toulon and represente ...

-inspired

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

side. Naoupu departed Connacht at the end of his first season. He moved to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, having agreed a deal with

Top League Japan Rugby League One (formerly the Top League) is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by absorbing the ...

side

Kobelco Steelers The Kobelco Kobe Steelers are a Japanese rugby union team owned by Kobe Steel, and based in Kobe. They were the first ever Top League champions when the League started in the 2003-2004 season. The team rebranded as Kobelco Kobe Steelers ahead of ...

Japanese rugby

Naoupu joined Japanese side

for the 2010–11 season. During his time at the club, the team finished fifth in the

2010–11 Top League The 2010–11 Top League was the eighth season of Japan's domestic rugby union competition, the Top League. The Sanyo Wild Knights defeated Suntory Sungoliath 28-23 in the final of the Microsoft Cup to claim their first Top League title. The Top L ...

, missing out on the title play-offs by one position, and were level on points with

Suntory Sungoliath Tokyo Sungoliath (formerly known as Suntory Sungoliath) is owned by the Suntory beverage company and is one of the Japanese rugby union teams in the Top League. The team is based in Fuchū, Tokyo, as is their local rival Toshiba Brave Lupus. The ...

who came fourth. Though the Steelers failed to make their league's title play-offs, they did reach the

48th All Japan Rugby Football Championship The 2011 The All-Japan Rugby Football Championship (日本ラグビーフットボール選手権大会 ''Nihon Ragubi- Futtobo-ru Senshuken Taikai'') starts on Feb 6th and finishes with the final on Feb 27th. Qualifying Top League The top fou ...

through a wild card play-off. The Steelers reached the semi-finals, but were narrowly beaten 37–33 by Suntory, who went on to win the final.

Return to Connacht

Following one season in Japan, Naoupu returned to play for

in the 2011–12 season. When he returned the Celtic League had been renamed the

Pro12 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

, and Connacht had qualified for the

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

, Europe's top club competition, for the first ever time. Naoupu made his first appearance since returning in the opening game of the

2011–12 Pro12 The 2011–12 Pro12 League (also known as the ''RaboDirect Pro12'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 11th season of the rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League, the second with its current 12-team format, and also the first w ...

, starting against Benetton Treviso on 3 September 2011, and playing the full 80 minutes. Naoupu made his first appearance at the top level of European rugby on 11 November 2011, when he started against Harlequins in Connacht's opening

2011–12 Heineken Cup The 2011–12 Heineken Cup was the 17th season of the Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby. The final was held at Twickenham on Saturday, 19 May 2012, kicking off at ...

game. Naoupu also started in all five other games the province played in the competition, including Connacht's first ever win at that level, in the return game with Harlequins on 20 January 2012. He made a total of 17 league appearances for the season, starting in all the games he played. The 2012–13 season saw Naoupu play fewer games in total, but put in several strong performances. He played 14 games in the

2012–13 Pro12 The 2012–13 Pro12 League (also known as the ''RaboDirect Pro12'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 12th season of the rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League, the third with its current 12-team format, and the second with Ra ...

, starting all but one, and scoring four tries. Over the course of the season, Naoupu faced competition from Academy graduate

Eoin McKeon Eoin McKeon (born 23 June 1991) is a rugby union player from Ireland. He primarily played in the back row. McKeon played for his native province of Connacht in the Pro14 from 2010 to 2020. He played his club rugby for Galwegians. Early life M ...

for the number 8 position. In the

2012–13 Heineken Cup The 2012–13 Heineken Cup was the 18th season of the Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby. The tournament began with two pool matches on 12 October 2012 and ended with t ...

, he started two games and came on as a replacement in another. In January 2013, it was announced that Naoupu had been offered a contract extension on the back of his good form, agreeing a deal to stay with Connacht until the end of the 2014–15 season. In the following season, Naoupu was again vying with McKeon for the starting position on the team. Naoupu started the first two games of the

2013–14 Pro12 The 2013–14 Pro12 (also known as the ''RaboDirect Pro12'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 13th season of the Pro12 rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League, the fourth with its current 12-team format, and the third with Rab ...

against

Zebre Zebre Parma (, meaning "Zebras") are an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the United Rugby Championship and EPCR competitions from the 2012–13 season. They are based in Parma (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. They are operated by the ...

and

Cardiff Blues Cardiff Rugby ( cy, Rygbi Caerdydd) are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby competitions. Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms ...

, and was used as a replacement in the next two. The

2013–14 Heineken Cup The 2013–14 Heineken Cup was the 19th and final season of the Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby. The pool stage began on 11 October 2013 and ran through to 17–19 ...

saw Naoupu start in half of Connacht's games and come on as a replacement in the other three. He scored his first ever European try on 19 October 2013 against Zebre. Naoupu suffered an injury in February 2014 however, which ruled him out for the rest of the season and he ended up making a total of 14 league appearances, with just six of these coming as starts.

Retirement from Professional Rugby

Naoupu announced his retirement from professional rugby in July 2017. Naoupu joined the amateur club,

Wicklow RFC Wicklow RFC is an Irish rugby team based in Wicklow, Leinster, playing in Division 1A of the Leinster League. Apart from the First XV (Junior 1), the club also fields a Second XV (Junior 2), Third XV (Anderson Cup), U19, U17, U15, U14, U13. Seni ...

, as player/coach for the 2017–18 season .

International

Naoupu represented New Zealand at both

schools A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

and under 19 level. Naoupu has also played for his country in rugby sevens, meaning he cannot qualify for through residency as he is committed to New Zealand under IRB regulations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naoupu, George Living people 1983 births New Zealand rugby union players Highlanders (rugby union) players Canterbury rugby union players Tasman rugby union players Hawke's Bay rugby union players Kobelco Kobe Steelers players Connacht Rugby players Rugby union players from Christchurch New Zealand expatriate rugby union players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Ireland New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Japan Expatriate rugby union players in Ireland Expatriate rugby union players in Japan New Zealand male rugby sevens players New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent New Zealand international rugby sevens players Rugby union flankers Rugby union locks