Kevin Ronald Tamati (born 21 September 1953) is a New Zealand former

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 ...

representative player and coach. He played at representative level for

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 ...

, New Zealand Māori,

Auckland 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 ...

, Central Districts and

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, and professionally at club level for

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on t ...

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

and Salford, Chorley Borough in the forwards. He has coached the New Zealand Māori, and professionally for

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

, Chorley Borough/Lancashire Lynx, British Army Rugby League and

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies by road south-west of Carlisle and to the north of Barrow-in-Furness. It is th ...

. He is the cousin of fellow international

Howie Tamati Howard Kevin Tamati (born 3 January 1953), generally known as Howie Tamati, is a New Zealand politician and former professional rugby league footballer and coach who played for New Zealand. He is the cousin of fellow international Kevin Tamati. ...

Early life and family

Born in 1953 of

Ngāti Kahungunu Ngāti Kahungunu is a Māori iwi located along the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The iwi is traditionally centred in the Hawke's Bay and Wairārapa regions. The tribe is organised into six geographical and administrative di ...

and

Ngāti Mutunga Ngāti Mutunga is a Māori iwi (tribe) of New Zealand, whose original tribal lands were in north Taranaki. They migrated from Taranaki, first to Wellington (with Ngāti Toa and other Taranaki Hāpu), and then to the Chatham Islands (along with ...

descent, Tamati was educated at

Hastings Boys' High School Hastings Boys' High School is a boys' secondary school in Hastings, New Zealand. The school is part of the Super 8. The school was founded in 1904 as Hastings High School. In 1922, it became Hastings Technical School under the leadership of Wi ...

. He is the cousin of

.Kevin Tamati
''Maori Sports Profile & Database''

Playing career

After moving to Wellington in 1971 Tamati took up rugby league, joining the Petone Panthers club. He later played for the Upper Hutt Tigers and the Randwick Kingfishers. He made the

Junior Kiwis The Junior Kiwis side represents New Zealand in the sport of rugby league. They are commonly known as the Junior Kiwis, after the native bird of that name. Since 2010, they are an under-20s side, with players selected from the NRL, Intrust Super ...

in 1973. A Wellington representative, Tamati made a name for himself as a tough player. He moved to England in 1982 and had success with both

and

. During the 1984 season Tamati played on Saturday for the

Northcote Tigers The Northcote Tigers are a rugby league club based in Northcote, Auckland, Northcote, New Zealand. The club was founded in 1910 as the Northcote Warriors though they became known as the Northcote Ramblers shortly afterwards.John Haynes ''From A ...

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 ...

competition and then flew down to Wellington on Sundays to play for the Randwick Kingfishers. During this season Tamati also represented

. A Wellington representative and New Zealand international, Tamati played 52 times for Wellington and for the Kiwis from 1979 until 1985.''Lion Red 1988 Rugby League Annual'',

New Zealand Rugby League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood ''T ...

, 1988. p.p.151-159 He is perhaps best known for his fight with

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

prop

Greg Dowling Greg Dowling (born 15 January 1959) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative prop forward, he played his club foot ...

which continued on the sideline after both players had been sent to the sin-bin by French referee Julien Rascagneres. Tamati won caps for

in 1979 against Great Britain (3 matches), in 1980 against Australia (2 matches), and Great Britain (3 matches), and France (2 matches), in 1981 against France, while at Widnes in 1982 against Australia (2 matches), and Papua New Guinea, in 1984 against Great Britain, in 1985 against Australia (2 matches), in 1985 in the

1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup The 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup (sometimes shortened to 1988 Rugby League World Cup) was the ninth Rugby League World Cup tournament held and saw yet another change of format with competition stretched to cover almost three years (1985 t ...

against Australia, in 1985 against Great Britain ( interchange/ substitute), and in 1985 in the

against Great Britain. In total Tamati playing in 37 games for the Kiwis, including 29 test matches.

Premiership Final appearances

Kevin Tamati played in

's 38–10 victory over Halifax in the Premiership Final during the 1985–86 season at

Elland Road Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Premier League club Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the 14th largest football stadium in England. The g ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

on Sunday 18 May 1986.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Kevin Tamati played right-, i.e. number 10, in

' 19–6 victory over

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

in the

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

Final during the 1983–84 season at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on Saturday 5 May 1984, in front of a crowd of 80,116.

County Cup Final appearances

Kevin Tamati played right-, i.e. number 10, in

' 8–12 defeat by Barrow in the

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

County Cup The county football associations are the local governing bodies of association football in England and the Crown dependencies. County FAs exist to govern all aspects of football in England. They are responsible for administering club and player ...

Final during the 1983–84 season at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

on Saturday 1 October 1983, played as an interchange/ substitute, i.e. number 15, (replacing

Les Boyd Les Boyd (born 17 November 1956) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played representative football for the Australian national side in international matches as well as the New South Wales si ...

) in

's 8–34 defeat by

in the

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

Final during the 1985–86 season at

Knowsley Road Knowsley Road in Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside, was the home ground of St. Helens from 1890 until its closure in 2010. St Helens Town FC played their home fixtures at Knowsley Road from 2002 until 2010. For a period, the venue also hosted ...

, St. Helens, on Sunday 13 October 1985, and played left-, i.e.number 8, in the 16–28 defeat by

in the

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

Final during the 1987–88 season at

, St. Helens on Sunday 11 October 1987.

John Player Special Trophy Final appearances

Kevin Tamati played right-, i.e. number 10, in

' 10-18 defeat by

in the 1983–84 John Player Special Trophy Final during the 1983–84 season at

on Saturday 14 January 1984, and played (replaced by interchange/ substitute Alan Rathbone at half-time) in

's 4-18 defeat by

in the 1986–87 John Player Special Trophy Final during the 1986–87 season at

Burnden Park Burnden Park was the home of English football club Bolton Wanderers who played home games there between 1895 and 1997. As well as hosting the 1901 FA Cup Final replay, it was the scene in 1946 of one of the greatest disasters in English footba ...

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

on Saturday 10 January 1987.

Coaching career

Tamati coached the

from 1989 until 1993. Tamati was employed as a rugby league development officer with

Warrington Borough Council Warrington Borough Council is the local authority of Warrington, Cheshire, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It provides a full range of local government services in ...

for nine years from 1989 to 1997 when he left in 1997 to take up a full-time position coaching the Lancashire Lynx. Tamati had previously been coaching Chorley Borough part-time, but the club's rebirth as the Lancashire Lynx prompted him to take up the roll full-time. Tamati was released by Lynx at end of the 1998 season, after failing to agree a new contract. Tamati then began a two-year spell coaching the

. In 2006 Tamati was coach of the

New Zealand Māori rugby league team New Zealand Māori rugby league team is a rugby league representative side made up of New Zealand Māori players. The side represents the New Zealand Māori Rugby league. Like its union counterpart, the rugby league team previously competed in ...

Later years

Tamati was inducted into the

''Legends of League'' in 1995. He is an

Immortal. Tamati is currently chairman and referee coordinator for Rugby League Hawkes Bay. Tamati was named at in the

Petone Panthers Petone (Māori: ''Pito-one''), a large suburb of Lower Hutt, Wellington, stands at the southern end of the Hutt Valley, on the northern shore of Wellington Harbour. The Māori name means "end of the sand beach". Europeans first settled in Pe ...

' Team of the Century in 2012. In 2012 he was named in the

Wellington Rugby League Wellington Rugby League is the local sporting body responsible for the administration of Rugby league in the Greater Wellington region. It is responsible for the local competition of the same name, as well as its representative team, the Wellingto ...

's Team of the Century.

References

External links

NZRL Roll of Honour
*
Photograph "Kiwi Team Photo 1980 - REAR: Tupaea, Fisher, Baxendale, West, Whittaker, Kemble, Muru, Edkins. CENTRE: Rushton, O' Donnell, Leuluai, Broadhurst, Green, Tamati, Te Ariki, Gall, Dickison. FRONT: Kells, Coll, Kevin Tamati, Mountford (coach), Graham (captain), Nesbitt (manager), Ah... - Date: 01/01/1980" at rlhp.co.uk
*(archived by web.archive.org
Statistics at rugby.widnes.tv
*(archived by web.archive.org
Statistics at wolvesplayers.thisiswarrington.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tamati, Kevin 1953 births Living people Auckland rugby league team players Central Districts rugby league team players Chorley Lynx coaches Junior Kiwis players New Zealand Māori rugby league players New Zealand Māori rugby league team coaches New Zealand Māori rugby league team players New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England New Zealand rugby league coaches New Zealand rugby league players Ngāti Kahungunu people Ngāti Mutunga people Northcote Tigers players People educated at Hastings Boys' High School Petone Panthers players Randwick Kingfishers players Rugby league players from Hawke's Bay Region Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows Salford Red Devils coaches Upper Hutt Tigers players Warrington Wolves players Wellington rugby league team players Whitehaven R.L.F.C. coaches Widnes Vikings players