Patrick Tito Tuipulotu (born 23 January 1993) is a New Zealand

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 is currently a

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 ...

for 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 ...

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 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 ...

. Tuipulotu is the Blues' current captain and has previously captained Auckland in 2017 and 2018. He has won 4 international caps 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 ...

since 2014.

Career

Early career

Tuipulotu was schooled at St Peter's College in

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 ...

and made his debut for his local side in the

2013 ITM Cup Thirteen or 13 may refer to: * 13 (number), the natural number following 12 and preceding 14 * One of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, 2013 Music * 13AD (band), an Indian classic and hard rock band Albums * ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013 * ...

, where he made seven appearances and scored one try. His impressive displays saw him named in the squad for the

2014 Super Rugby season The 2014 Super Rugby season is the fourth season of the 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition involving teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. For sponsorship reasons, this competition is known as Asteron Life Super Rugby ...

. Tuipulotu competed for the New Zealand Under-20s at the

2013 IRB Junior World Championship The 2013 IRB Junior World Championship was the sixth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. The event was organised in France by rugby's governing body, the IRB. A total of twelve nations played in the tournament ...

where he made five appearances and scored one try. He was named in a preliminary training squad for the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

on 12 May 2014. Tuipulotu was then selected for the All Blacks' squad for the first time on 1 June 2014. He made his All Blacks debut as a substitute in the 28–27 win, against England on 14 June 2014. Tuipulotu did not feature much on debut, replacing the in-form

Brodie Retallick Brodie Allan Retallick (born 31 May 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer, who plays as a lock for the Chiefs in Super Rugby and is part of the squad for New Zealand's domestic National Provincial Championship competition. Retallick ...

with only four minutes left. He then did the same the following week, except New Zealand beat England 36-13, again using Tuipulotu as a substitute. After being used off the bench twice more during the

2014 Rugby Championship The 2014 Rugby Championship was the third edition of the expanded annual southern hemisphere Rugby Championship consisting of Argentina, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. The tournament was won by New Zealand, with South Africa second, Aus ...

, Tuipulotu earned his first start for the All Blacks against the USA on 1 November 2014. Tuipulotu played the full 80 minutes against the USA, scoring the first try of his international career during the first half of the 71-6 victory. Tuipulotu then rounded his year off with two more appearances off the bench during the end-of-year tour.

2015–2016

Tuipulotu did not play any international rugby in 2015, missing out on the World Cup due to injury. Following his comeback to Super Rugby after recovering, Tuipulotu was selected for the All Blacks' 32-man squad for the 2016 Steinlager series against Wales. Tuipulotu came off the bench in the first two tests of the series and went on to start against Argentina in the second test against them in the Rugby Championship. Following injury to

and

Sam Whitelock Samuel Lawrence Whitelock (born 12 October 1988) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays as a lock for the Crusaders in Super Rugby and Canterbury in the Mitre 10 Cup. Whitelock has captained the Crusaders, and New Zealand in five interna ...

, as well as the death of

Luke Romano Luke Romano (born 16 February 1986) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer who plays as a lock for the Blues in Super Rugby and Canterbury in the Mitre 10 Cup. He played for the All Blacks from 2012 - 2017 and was a key member of 2015 Rugby ...

's relative, Tuipulotu started in a historic 29-40 first-time loss against Ireland in Chicago, on 5 November 2016, with Blues teammate

Jerome Kaino Jerome Kaino (born 6 April 1983) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. In 2004, he was named IRB International Under-21 player of the year. In 2011, he was named the New Zealand Rugby player of the year, finishing ahead of Richie McCaw ...

, who was shifted from blindside flanker to lock, following uncapped locks Scott Barrett and

Vaea Fifita Vaea Tangitau Lapota Fifita (born 17 June 1992) is a Tongan Rugby Union, rugby union player who currently plays for the Scarlets. Previously he was a Lock (rugby union), lock or Flanker (rugby union), loose forward for the in the international ...

being called up as injury cover. Tuipulotu played the majority of the test before being replaced by

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 ...

in the 59th minute. The poor performances of Tuipulotu, Kaino, Joe Moody and Aaron Smith were later criticised, with the unusual locking combination against Ireland generally accepted as the cause of New Zealand's loss. Starting in combination with the now-capped Barrett against Italy the following week, Tuipulotu scored his second test try, producing a much better performance in the 68-10 win.

2017–2018

Tuipulotu did not play against the

British & Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

in 2017 after he was late to a Blues training session, following missing much of the season with injury. The

2017 Super Rugby season The 2017 Super Rugby season was the 22nd season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. It was the second season featuring an expand ...

was a mixed season for Tuipulotu, who scored many tries but struggled to play consistently because of his persistent injury troubles. Following the end of Super Rugby, Tuipulotu was named as captain of Auckland 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 ...

season, by Auckland coach Paul Feeney. Following his mixed start to the season, he was not selected for All Blacks 33-man Lions tour squad, losing his spot to Scott Barrett, but was re-called near the end of the 2017 Rugby Championship following the miscarriage of Brodie Retallick's second child. After making four appearances off the bench for the All Blacks during 2017, Tuipulotu regathered form previously lost to injury and made a start against a French XV, in a 28-23 win, scoring a try against them and was chosen to start over Barrett for the final test of the year, against Wales in a 33-18 win. Tuipulotu started in combination with All Black Captain,

, against Wales and was replaced by Barrett in the 46th minute. Tuipulotu was very good during 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 ...

but missed many fixtures due to injury. After four months' absence, Tuipulotu returned to rugby, on 7 September 2018, to captain Auckland against Tasman. Tuipulotu scored a hat-trick in the first half of the game, leading his team to a 36-10 win. Having missed the

2018 June rugby union tests The 2018 mid-year rugby union internationals (also known as the summer internationals in the Northern Hemisphere) are international rugby union matches that are mostly played in the Southern Hemisphere during the June international window. The mat ...

with injury, his outstanding performance against Tasman earned him a re-call to the All Blacks, for the

2018 Rugby Championship The 2018 Rugby Championship was the seventh edition of the expanded annual southern hemisphere Rugby Championship, featuring Argentina, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. The competition is operated by SANZAAR, a joint venture of the four ...

, after

was ruled out for the rest of the competition with a shoulder injury. TJ Faiane took over as Auckland's captain in Tuipulotu's absence. Tuipulotu's return from injury also displaced

from the All Blacks, leaving Tuipulotu and Scott Barrett as back-up to

. Tuipulotu played his first test of 2018 in New Zealand's shock loss to South Africa, on 15 September at

Westpac Stadium Wellington Regional Stadium (known commercially as Sky Stadium through naming rights) is a major sporting venue in Wellington, New Zealand. The stadium's bowl site size is . The stadium was built in 1999 by Fletcher Construction and is situa ...

. Tuipulotu also came off the bench in the next two tests of the competition, which were the last. With Brodie Retallick back from injury, Tuipulotu only played twice during the 2018 end-of-year tour. He played well in both tests, which were starts in a 69-31 victory over Japan and a 66-3 victory over Italy. Tuipulotu's great form through 2018 then saw him named as co-captain for the Blues'

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 ...

, by new head coach,

Leon MacDonald Leon Raymond MacDonald (born 21 December 1977) is a retired New Zealand rugby union footballer, and now head coach for the Auckland Blues rugby team, who played 56 tests for the national team, the All Blacks. He played as a first five-eighth (f ...

. Tuipulotu will be captain alongside loose forward,

Blake Gibson Blake Gibson (born 19 April 1995) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a loose forward for in the ITM Cup and the in Super Rugby. Early career Born in Auckland, Gibson attended Saint Kentigern College in the city and ...

, and succeed Augustine Pulu as the team's leader.

Honours

New Zealand *

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

Webb Ellis Cup The Webb Ellis Cup is the trophy awarded to the winner of the men's Rugby World Cup, the premier competition in men's international rugby union. The Cup is named after William Webb Ellis, who is often credited as being the inventor of rugby footba ...

**Third-place:

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuipulotu, Patrick 1993 births New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent New Zealand international rugby union players Rugby union locks Auckland rugby union players Blues (Super Rugby) players People educated at St Peter's College, Auckland Rugby union players from Auckland Living people Toyota Verblitz players 2019 Rugby World Cup players