Marino Mikaele-Tu'u (born 6 November 1997) is a

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 ...

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, who currently plays as a loose forward for Sagamihara DynaBoars in the

Japan Rugby League One 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 ...

competition. He previously played for the in

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 ...

and in New Zealand's domestic

National Provincial Championship The National Provincial Championship may refer to: * National Provincial Championship (1976–2005), original competition before reform into 14 sides * National Provincial Championship (2006–present) The National Provincial Championship, o ...

competition.

Early career

Mikaele-Tu'u was born in

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 moved 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 ...

at the age of 11. He has a twin brother, Antonio, and a younger sister, Liana, who also play first class rugby. Mikaele-Tu'u attended

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 ...

and was one of the standout players for their First XV team in 2014 and 2015. Mikaele-Tu'u played age-grade rugby for

and also played for the U18 team in 2015.

Senior career

In 2016, Mikaele-Tu'u was - for the first time - named in the

Mitre 10 Cup The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in t ...

squad. He made his Magpies debut, off the bench, on 20 August 2016 against . While he played only two games in his first season, he soon established himself as a regular starter for the Magpies. Although Mikaele-Tu'u wasn't named in the ' squad for the

2018 Super Rugby season The 2018 Super Rugby season was the 23rd season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. After two seasons in which 18 teams participate ...

, he was soon called up as an injury replacement for

James Lentjes James Anthony Richard Lentjes (born 16 January 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently for the Bunnings NPC. His position is Flanker. Early career Born and raised in the city of Christchurch in the South Island of New Zealan ...

. He made his

debut - replacing Dan Pryor on the bench - against the on 9 March 2018. Two months later, the Highlanders announced they had signed Mikaele-Tu'u for 2019 and 2020. He didn't get much game time in 2019 - he played only two games - but had a break-out season in 2020. He cemented himself in the Highlanders' starting line-up and was one of the form New Zealand loose-forwards in Super Rugby, that year. Mikaele-Tu'u was again named in the Highlanders' squad for the 2021 Super Rugby season. On 1 June 2023, the Highlanders announced on their social media that Mikaele-Tu'u would leave the franchise at the end of the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season to play in Japan for

Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars also known as Mitsubishi Juko Sagamihara Rugby Club, are a Japanese rugby union team based in Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The owner of this club is Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The club was founded in 1981. It ...

. That same day, the

club confirmed the signing. Mikaele-Tu'u played 47 Super Rugby games and scored six tries during his six seasons at the Highlanders. Before leaving for Japan, Mikaele-Tu'u played one more season for . During the

2023 Bunnings NPC The 2023 Bunnings NPC season was the eighteenth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition, the National Provincial Championship (2006–present), National Provincial Championship, since it turned professional in 2006. It involv ...

season, he helped the Magpies win back the

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 ...

from in a tight game that the visitors won 20 – 18. He also helped his province reach the NPC final for the first time. That final, which Hawke's Bay narrowly lost 19 – 22 to was his last and 62nd game for the Magpies. He played a total of eight seasons for the province during which he scored 15 tries and converted one.

International career

In 2014, Mikaele-Tu'u was named in

New Zealand Barbarians The New Zealand Barbarians, nicknamed the "Baa-Baas", are an invitational rugby union team. They have been a part of New Zealand rugby since the team was founded in 1937 by two ex-All Blacks, Ronald Bush and Hubert McLean, who captained their fi ...

Schools' team that played matches against Australian Schools and Fiji Schools. The following year, he was named in the New Zealand Secondary Schools team for a three-match international series in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. He played in all three games. Mikaele-Tu'u was named in the New Zealand Under-20 squad for the 2016 Oceania Rugby Under 20 Championship and played in both matches of that year's series against . He was also part of the squad for the 2016 World Rugby Under 20 Championship in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He played in all 5 games in a campaign that saw New Zealand finish at a disappointing 5th place. In 2017, Mikaele-Tu'u enjoyed more success with the New Zealand Under 20 team. He was named in the squad for the 2017 Oceania Rugby Under 20 Championship, which that year consisted of tests against Australia, and . He played in two of the three games, and New Zealand retained the Oceania title. On 8 May 2017, Mikaele-Tu'u was named in the New Zealand Under-20 squad for the 2017 World Rugby Under 20 Championship in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. He played in all New Zealand's games, including the record 64-17 win over

in the final. New Zealand claimed its 6th World Rugby U20 Championship title that year. On 5 December 2020, Mikaele-Tu'u - who is of Samoan descent - played for the

Moana Pasifika Moana Pasifika is a rugby union team made up of players from various Pacific island nations as well as New Zealand or Australian born players of Pasifika heritage, including Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and the Cook Islands. The team was originally crea ...

team in a one-off match against the

Māori All Blacks The Māori All Blacks, previously called the New Zealand Maori, New Zealand Maoris and New Zealand Natives, are a rugby union team from New Zealand. They are a representative team of the New Zealand Rugby Union, and a prerequisite for playing i ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

. After an outstanding

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

playing for the , Mikaele-Tu'u was, on 10 October 2022, named in the All Blacks XV squad for two matches against Ireland A and the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be les ...

during their Northern Tour. He made his debut for the side on 4 November 2022 against Ireland A. The All Blacks XV won the game 47–19.

Honours

New Zealand Under-20 *

World Rugby Under 20 Championship The World Rugby Under 20 Championship (known as the IRB Junior World Championship until 2014) is an international rugby union competition. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, World Rugby, and is contested by 12 men's junior nat ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

Hawke's Bay Magpies * Mitre 10 Cup Championship -

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

References

External links

NZ Rugby History profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mikaele-Tu'u, Marino 1997 births Living people New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent People educated at Hastings Boys' High School Rugby union players from Wellington City New Zealand rugby union players Rugby union flankers Rugby union number eights Highlanders (rugby union) players Hawke's Bay rugby union players Moana Pasifika players Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars players