Maama Vaipulu (born 21 July 1989) is a New Zealand rugby player of Tongan descent. He represented Counties Manukau and the Chiefs in New Zealand and

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 ...

on an international level. Currently he plays in the number 8 and occasionally flanker position for the

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

based

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

side,

Castres Castres (; ''Castras'' in the Languedocian dialect, Languedocian dialect of Occitan language, Occitan) is the sole Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Tarn (department), Tarn Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administ ...

Career

Vaipulu started his professional career with the Counties Manukau Steelers during the

2012 ITM Cup 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, playing in the number eight position he immediately became a regular in the starting 15 and helped his side to become established in the ITM Cup Premiership. His physical play and explosiveness for the Steelers saw him named in the squad for the

2015 Super Rugby season The 2015 Super Rugby season was the 20th season of Super Rugby and the fifth season featuring an expanded 15-team format. For sponsorship reasons, this competition was known as Asteron Life Super Rugby in Australia, Investec Super Rugby in New ...

. As of 2016 Vaipulu has been with Castres Olympique in France where they took out the French title in 2018 and representing Tonga's 'Ikale Tahi team in the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan where they finished 4th in their round after a win against USA.

Honours

Club

: 2017–18

References

External links

* 1989 births Living people New Zealand rugby union players Rugby union flankers Rugby union number eights Counties Manukau rugby union players Chiefs (rugby union) players New Zealand sportspeople of Tongan descent Castres Olympique players New Zealand expatriate rugby union players Tongan expatriate rugby union players in France New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in France People educated at Pukekohe High School People educated at Wesley College, Auckland Tongan rugby union players Tonga international rugby union players Union Bordeaux Bègles players 2019 Rugby World Cup players {{Tonga-rugbyunion-bio-stub