Steve Rapira (born 17 December 1988) is a New Zealand former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer. A second-row forward, he previously played in the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

for the

North Queensland Cowboys The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest town in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL). Sinc ...

and

New Zealand Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...

, and English club

Salford Red Devils The Salford Red Devils are a professional rugby league club in Salford, Greater Manchester, England, who play in the Super League. Formed in 1873, they have won six Championships and one Challenge Cup. Their home ground since 2012 has been t ...

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

, and is the younger brother of New Zealand international,

Sam Rapira Sam Rapira (born 8 April 1987) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who last played for Toulouse Olympique in the Betfred Championship. He played as a . A New Zealand international representative he previously played ...

Background

Rapira played for Hukanui in the

Waikato Rugby League Waikato Rugby League is the local sporting body responsible for the administration of rugby league in the Waikato region of New Zealand. The WRL are represented by the Waikato rugby league team. They are currently part of the Upper Central Zone alo ...

competition and the

Waicoa Bay Stallions The Wai-Coa-Bay Stallions were a rugby league team that represent the Upper Central Zone of the New Zealand Rugby League. The Zone comprises four districts: Waikato, Coastline Rugby League, Bay of Plenty, and Gisborne Tairawhiti Rugby League. The ...

in the

Bartercard Cup The Bartercard Cup (successor of the Lion Red Cup) was the top level rugby league club competition in New Zealand from 2000 until 2007. For the entire life of the tournament it was sponsored by Bartercard. The cup was administered by the New Zeala ...

. Rapira played for the

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 ...

Under-16's in 2004 and made the

Junior Kiwis The Junior Kiwis side represents New Zealand in the sport of rugby league. They are commonly known as the Junior Kiwis, after the native bird of that name. Since 2010, they are an under-20s side, with players selected from the NRL, Intrust Super ...

in 2005. He became a

junior and playing in their inaugural Toyota Cup team. He played for the Junior Warriors 10 times in 2008 and scored two tries.

Professional playing career

National Rugby League

In 2009 Rapira joined

, playing for the

Mackay Cutters The Mackay Cutters are a semi-professional rugby league football club based in Mackay, Queensland, Mackay, Queensland. They compete in Queensland's top rugby league competition, the Queensland Cup. The club was admitted to the Queensland Cup i ...

in the

Queensland Cup The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and is contested by four ...

. He made his first grade début on 11 April 2010 against the

Gold Coast Titans The Gold Coast Titans are a professional rugby league football club, based on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australia and New Zealand's national rugby league club competition. The ...

. He was named the club's rookie of the year in 2009. In 2010 Rapira signed a two-year contract to re-join the New Zealand Warriors for the 2011 and 2012 seasons, with an option on a third year. He made his Warriors début in Round 13 on 4 June 2011. For the 2012 season Rapira has been "re-modelled" as a prop.

Super League

Rapira signed to play in the

for English club the

in 2014.

Queensland Cup

In 2015, Rapira returned to the

in the

.Former Warriors duo join Cutters
''rugbyleagueweek.com.au'', 27 November 2014

References

External links

Steve Rapira
''North Queensland Cowboys'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Rapira, Steve 1988 births Living people Auckland rugby league team players Junior Kiwis players Mackay Cutters players New Zealand Māori rugby league players New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand Warriors players North Queensland Cowboys players Rugby league players from Hamilton, New Zealand Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows Salford Red Devils players Waicoa Bay Stallions players Waikato rugby league team players