Sam Tuitupou (born 1 February 1982) 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 ...
international
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
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 plays in England. His position is
Inside Centre
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– ...
.
Tuitupou won world titles as captain for New Zealand at under-19 and under-21 level, during his junior career. In his senior career he achieved two
Air New Zealand Cup
The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...
titles, with
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 in the
Super 14 championship with 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 ...
. Tuitupou also won acclaim on the international stage with his first
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 ...
call-up for the clash with
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 ...
at Dunedin in 2004. He played 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 ...
between 2004 and 2006, earning nine caps.
In 2007 he signed a contract with
Worcester Warriors
Worcester Warriors Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union club, based in Worcester, England, that is currently in Administration (law), administration and which has been suspended and will be relegated from Premiership Rugby, the top ...
, and left New Zealand rugby to join his new team after the completion of the
2007 Air New Zealand Cup. His contract with Worcester kept him at
Sixways until June 2010.
Tuitopou moved to
Munster
Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...
for the 2010–11 season, replacing
Jean de Villiers
Jean de Villiers (born 24 February 1981) is a South African former professional rugby union player. He started his career at wing, but played most of his career as an inside centre. De Villiers previously played for Western Province in the ...
as Munster's inside centre. Shortly after gaining his first team place he was banned for three weeks after a
spear tackle
A spear tackle is an illegal tackle in rugby union, rugby league and Australian rules football in which a player lifts another player into the air and drops them so that they land on their back, head or neck. Spear tackles have caused serious inju ...
on
Paul Hodgson during Munster's
Heineken Cup
The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...
pool game against
London Irish
London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...
. In his short time at Munster, he became a fan favourite, being awarded the nickname "Hacksaw Sam" by the Munster supporters. On 5 April 2011, Munster rugby announced that he would be leaving Munster at the end of the current season. On 11 April 2011,
Sale Sharks
Sale Sharks is a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
Originally founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club, now a distinct amateur club, they adopted the n ...
announced that Tuitupou had signed for two-years from the 2011–12 English Premiership season. On 25 April 2017,
Coventry RFC
Coventry Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union club based in Coventry, England. The club enjoyed great success during the 1960s and 70s, with many players representing their countries. Coventry's home ground is the Butts Park Arena, ...
announced that Tuitupou had signed for two-years from the 2017–18 English
National League 1
National One (last season known as National League 1 and previously known before September 2009 as National Division Two), is the third of three national leagues in the domestic rugby union competition of England. It was known as Courage Leagu ...
season.
In July 2019 Sam became an official RFU registered Agent and together with his wife Liz started
ProFifteen Player Managementbr>
In November 2020 Sam, alongside Samoan International, Dan Leo created
The Red Card Clubbr>
a frank and honest Rugby Podcast tackling the more controversial topics in the world of rugby
References
External links
Sale Sharks Profilea
SaleSharks.com*
Worcester Warriors Profilea
Warriors.co.ukGuinness Premiership Profilea
GuinnessPremiership.com*
Munster Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuitupou, Sam
1982 births
New Zealand international rugby union players
Living people
New Zealand sportspeople of Tongan descent
New Zealand rugby union players
Blues (Super Rugby) players
Auckland rugby union players
Worcester Warriors players
New Zealand expatriate rugby union players
Expatriate rugby union players in England
Expatriate rugby union players in Ireland
New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England
New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Ireland
Munster Rugby players
Sale Sharks players
Coventry R.F.C. players
People educated at Rutherford College, Auckland
Ponsonby RFC players
Rugby union centres
Rugby union players from Auckland