Joseph Mark Laifone Tuineau (born 18 August 1981) is a

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

international

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 it ...

footballer. He plays in the

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

position for the

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

based

Pro D2 Rugby Pro D2, also known as Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was in ...

side,

Dax Dax or DAX may refer to: Business and organizations * DAX, stock market index of the top 40 German companies ** DAX 100, an expanded index of 100 stocks, superseded by the HDAX ** TecDAX, stock index of the top 30 German technology firms * Dax ...

. Tuineau also represents

at international level. Tuineau is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player born in Fiji and raised in

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 ...

. His partner is

Southern Steel Southern Steel are a netball in New Zealand, New Zealand netball team based in Invercargill. Between 2008 ANZ Championship season, 2008 and 2016 ANZ Championship season, 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017 ANZ Premiership seas ...

and

Silver Ferns The New Zealand national netball team, commonly known as the Silver Ferns, represent New Zealand in international netball. The team take their nickname from the Silver Tree Fern ('' Cyathea dealbata''), which is an emblem for many New Zealand ...

goal shoot

Daneka Wipiiti Daneka Wipiiti (born 8 December 1982 in Hamilton, New Zealand) is a former New Zealand international netball player who played for the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns, and the Southern Steel in the ANZ Championship. Wipiiti ...

Rugby career

Provincial Rugby

Tuineau was a rugby and track star at King's College in Auckland but dropped the sport for several years to pursue a career in

. He returned to

in mid-2008, and two days after arriving he represented

Woodlands Woodlands may back refer to: * Woodland, a low-density forest Geography Australia * Woodlands, New South Wales * Woodlands, Ashgrove, Queensland, a heritage-listed house associated with John Henry Pepper * Woodlands, Marburg, Queensland, a her ...

in the Galbraith Shield final. He trained heavily to lose excess weight and gain fitness, and played most of the 2008 season with the Southland Development team before getting into late season games off the bench in the

Air New Zealand Cup The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

for

Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Re ...

. In 2009 he became a regular starter with the Stags in the

, appearing in all but one of the team's 14 games. He was a key figure in Southland's

Ranfurly Shield The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Shield is based on a challenge system. The holding union must defend the shield in challeng ...

win against

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a 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. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

, ending the fifty-year drought for the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

. He finished the

2009 Air New Zealand Cup The 2009 Air New Zealand Cup was the 33rd provincial rugby union competition, the fourth since the competition reconstruction in 2006, involving the top 14 provincial unions in New Zealand. It ran for 15 weeks from 30 July to 7 November. It was ...

with a team high four tries and was selected for the 2010 Highlanders squad. He continued as a starter for Southland during their extended defence of the Ranfurly Shield in the

2010 ITM Cup The 2010 ITM Cup season was the fifth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on July 29, when Taranaki hosted Northland. It involved the top fourteen rugby unio ...

. He appeared in the first 5 matches of the

2011 ITM Cup The 2011 ITM Cup season was the sixth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on July 14, when Otago hosted North Harbour. It involved the top fourteen rugby uni ...

, helping the province to another Ranfurly Shield triumph, before leaving to join the Tongan national side in preparation for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Super Rugby

Tuineau's strong showings with Southland earned him a contract with the Highlanders for the

2010 Super 14 season The 2010 Super 14 season kicked off in February 2010 with pre-season matches held from mid-January. It finished on 29 May. The 2010 season was the fifth and last season of the expanded Super 14 format. The schedule, which covers 3½ months, feat ...

. He didn't make his debut until the team's 6th match of the season, but an injury to starting lock

Tom Donnelly Thomas Mathew Donnelly (born 1 October 1981) was a rugby union player who played for Montpellier in the Top 14. He also made 15 appearances for the All Blacks since 2009 and played for Otago Rugby Football Union. He moved into a coaching care ...

saw an increase in playing time, and he appeared as a substitute in 7 of the final 8 games of the year. Although he was again included in the Highlanders squad for the

2011 Super Rugby season The 2011 Super Rugby season was the first season of the new 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition, which involved teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Including its past iterations as Super 12 and Super 14, this was the 16t ...

, he found himself on the fringes of the squad and didn't feature in any matches over the course of the season.

International Play

In the leadup to the 2011 Rugby World Cup, Tuineau declared his intention to represent

, and made his debut against Fiji on 2 July 2011.

Football career

Tuineau first played football in New Zealand for South Auckland Raiders and then attended Southeast Missouri State University where he played

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

. When Tuineau played football he weighed . He played four seasons for the Redhawks recording 61 catches for 772 yards, averaging 12.7 yards per catch with one

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

. After going undrafted in the 2008 National Football League Draft Tuineau trained with the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

, New York Jets and the New York Giants but failed to receive a

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

contract. After weighing up his options in 2008 he returned to

to pursue a

career and signed a two-year deal

References

External links

Southeast Missouri State University

highlanders-rugby.co.nz
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tuineau, Joe 1981 births Tonga international rugby union players Living people Rugby union locks New Zealand rugby union players Fijian rugby union players Sportspeople from Suva Fijian emigrants to New Zealand Highlanders (rugby union) players Southland rugby union players Montpellier Hérault Rugby players Lyon OU players US Dax players New Zealand sportspeople of Tongan descent Expatriate rugby union players in France