Michael Tamoaieta (6 July 1995 – 1 March 2019) was a Samoan-born

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. A

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

, Tamoaieta represented at a provincial level, and played for the in the

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 ...

competition. Tamoaieta died on 1 March 2019.

Professional career

2017–2019

In August 2017, the

North Harbour Rugby Union The North Harbour Rugby Union (NHRU), commonly known as North Harbour or simply Harbour, is the governing body of rugby union that encompasses a wide geographical area north of Auckland that includes North Shore City, Rodney District, the Hibis ...

released their 33-man squad for the

2017 Mitre 10 Cup The 2017 Mitre 10 Cup season was the twelfth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on August 17, when North Harbour hosted Otago. It involved the top fourteen ...

with the inclusion of Tamoaieta. He was one of five players announced to make their debut in week one of the competition against

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

QBE Stadium North Harbour Stadium is a stadium situated in Albany, in North Shore City, New Zealand. It was opened in 1997, after nearly a decade of discussion, planning and construction. Rugby union, association football, rugby league, and baseball are a ...

. Tamoaieta started in the match day fifteen at

tighthead prop In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...

Personal life

Death

Tamoaieta died on 1 March 2019, aged 23, at his home in Auckland which was announced on social media by his partner Helen Ti'eti'e the following day. The cause of death was not made public. Tributes and condolences were offered by New Zealand Rugby chief executive

Steve Tew Stephen John Tew (born ) is a New Zealand sports administrator. He was the chief executive officer of New Zealand Rugby from 2008 to 2019. Early life and family Tew attended college at Hutt Valley High School in Lower Hutt and then graduated fr ...

, New Zealand international

Ardie Savea Ardie Suemalo Savea (born 14 October 1993) is a rugby union player who plays as a flanker or number 8 for in the ITM Cup, the Hurricanes in Super Rugby and international rugby for the New Zealand All Blacks. Savea was a member of New Zealan ...

, and the

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

franchise. In week two of the

2019 Super Rugby season The 2019 Super Rugby season was the 24th season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. The 2019 season was the second season using the ...

, New Zealand teams, the Chiefs, the Crusaders, and the Blues wore black armbands to pay their respects and an acknowledgment of his life at their respective games in

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 ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, and

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Statistics

Updated: 29 September 2018 Source:''
Michael Tamoaieta Rugby History
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References

1995 births 2019 deaths New Zealand rugby union players North Harbour rugby union players Blues (Super Rugby) players Samoan emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand people of i-Kiribati descent Rugby union props People educated at Sacred Heart College, Auckland Rugby union players from Apia {{NewZealand-rugbyunion-bio-1990s-stub