Jason Temu (born 17 April 1972) former

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played as a in the 1990s and 2000s. He played at representative level for

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

, and club level for the

Marist Saints The Marist Saints is a rugby league club based in Mount Albert, New Zealand. They currently compete in the top grade in Auckland Rugby League, the Fox Memorial Premiership. History Founded in 1919, the Marist club first won the Fox Memorial in 1 ...

, Counties Manukau,

Oldham Bears Oldham R.L.F.C., also known as the Roughyeds, is a professional rugby league football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. The club currently competes in the RFL League 1, the third tier of British Rugby League. Formed in 1876 as Oldh ...

( Heritage № 1026),

Hull FC Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and wer ...

, Newcastle Knights and the

New Zealand Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...

Background

Temu was born in

Auckland, New Zealand Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

and is of

Cook Islanders Cook Islanders are residents of the Cook Islands, which is composed of 15 islands and atolls in Polynesia in the Pacific Ocean. Cook Islands Māori are the indigenous Polynesian people of the Cook Islands, although more Cook Islands Māori cur ...

descent.

Early years

Temu grew up in New Zealand and played for the

in the

Auckland Rugby League The Auckland Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is responsible for rugby league in the region, including both club and school rugby league. It began in 1910 when the fi ...

.''Lion Red Rugby League Annual 1994'', New Zealand Rugby Football League, 1994. p.106 In 1994 he followed his coach, Stan Martin, to the

Counties Manukau Heroes The Counties Manukau rugby league team represents the Counties Manukau zone in the Albert Baskerville Trophy. Previously, teams representing Southern Auckland and the Franklin district of New Zealand have competed in the Lion Red Cup and Bartercar ...

in the new

Lion Red Cup The Lion Red Cup was a New Zealand domestic rugby league competition that ran from 1994 to 1996 sponsored by brewers Lion Nathan. It was created due to the increase in public awareness of domestic rugby league due to the Auckland Warriors being a ...

competition.''Lion Red Rugby League Annual 1994'', New Zealand Rugby Football League, 1994. p.94 After several strong seasons with the Heroes he was offered a professional contract to play for

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

in the Championship, and then for the renamed

in the

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

. At Oldham Bears, Temu made an immediate impression, playing the first 22 consecutive games. Temu was to play for the club for the next three years. In 1995, after his first season with Oldham Bears, Temu was selected for the Cook Island to play in the

Emerging Nations Tournament In 1995 and 2000, the Rugby League International Federation held an Emerging Nations Tournament alongside the Rugby League World Cup. The competition was designed to allow teams who have failed to qualify for the World Cup proper a chance to play ...

. The Cook Islands won the tournament.

Hull Sharks and Newcastle Knights

In 1998 Temu made the move to the

Hull Sharks Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in Kingston upon Hull, West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League ...

and the

. Temu played 15 games for the club that year. In 1999 Temu moved to Australia and joined the Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League competition. His time at the club was plagued by injury and over two seasons he only played 3 first grade games. He was released at the end of 2000.

World Cup and Warriors

At the end of 2000 Temu was selected in the Cook Island team for the World Cup and was made vice-captain of the squad. The

Wigan Warriors The Wigan Warriors are a professional rugby league club in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the Super League. Formed in 1872 as Wigan Football Club, Wigan was a founding member of the Rugby Football League, Northern Rugby ...

were interested in signing Temu, who did not count as a quota player due to the time he had spent in Great Britain. However he was denied a work permit due to the little game time he had had at Newcastle and so the deal fell through. Instead, Temu signed with the new

club and provided experience to the younger props in the side. When not selected by the first grade side he played for the

Marist Richmond Brothers The Marist Richmond Brothers were a New Zealand rugby league franchise that played in the Bartercard Cup. They were a joint venture between two Auckland Rugby League clubs, the Richmond Bulldogs and the Marist Saints. In 2005 the competition was ...

in the

Bartercard Cup The Bartercard Cup (successor of the Lion Red Cup) was the top level rugby league club competition in New Zealand from 2000 until 2007. For the entire life of the tournament it was sponsored by Bartercard. The cup was administered by the New Zeala ...

.Round 7 Bartercard Cup Teams
''Rleague.com'', 26 April 2001 He played four first grade games for the Warriors and subsequently decided to retire at the end of the 2001 season.

References

External links

Jason Temu bio
''rugbyleague.co.nz''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Temu, Jason 1972 births Living people Cook Islands national rugby league team players Counties Manukau rugby league team players Expatriate rugby league players in England Hull F.C. players Marist Richmond Brothers players Marist Saints players New Zealand expatriate rugby league players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Australia New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England New Zealand sportspeople of Cook Island descent New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand Warriors players Newcastle Knights players Oldham R.L.F.C. players Rugby league players from Auckland Rugby league props Cook Island rugby league players Cook Island expatriate rugby league players Cook Island expatriate sportspeople in Australia Cook Island expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate rugby league players in Australia