Taine Tuaupiki () (born 31 August 1999) is an New Zealand

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 who plays as a for the

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 ...

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 ...

(NRL).

Background

Tuaupiki was born in Manly,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

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 grew up in

Taharoa Taharoa ( mi, Tahaaroa or ) is a small village on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand, to the southwest of Kawhia Harbour and overlooking Lake Taharoa. The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "lo ...

on the southern side of

Kawhia Harbour Kawhia Harbour (Maori: ''Kāwhia'') is one of three large natural inlets in the Tasman Sea coast of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located to the south of Raglan Harbour, Ruapuke and Aotea Harbour, 40 kilometres southwe ...

. Tuaupiki is related to fellow

player,

Te Maire Martin Te Maire Martin (born 2 October 1995) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League (NRL) and is a New Zealand international. Martin previously played for t ...

Playing career

Early career

Tuaupiki was educated at

Coombabah State High School {{Unreferenced, date=October 2008 Coombabah State High School is a public secondary school located in the northern suburb of Coombabah on the Gold Coast, Queensland, in Australia. Backing onto the Coombabah Lakelands Conversation Area, The campus ...

, where he played in the 2016 NRL Schoolboys Cup Queensland final against

Keebra Park State High School , motto_translation = Honourable Deeds Rather Than Splendid Ones , streetaddress= Anne St, Southport 4215 , city= Gold Coast , state= Queensland , website= , principal= , principal_label= Principal , schooltype= Public ...

, and played junior rugby league for the

Burleigh Bears The Burleigh Bears are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Gold Coast, Australia. They compete in Queensland's top rugby league competition, the Queensland Cup. Since their admission to the competition in 1997, the ...

, progressing through to the

Hastings Deering Colts The Hastings Deering Colts is a junior rugby league competition based in Queensland, contested among teams made up of players aged 21 or under. The competition is administered by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL), and is contested by fourteen te ...

competition in 2019. Following an impressive season for Burleigh in the 2022 Queensland Cup season, Tuaupiki won the

Petero Civoniceva Petero Civoniceva ( (Thee-vo-nee-thee-vah); born 21 April 1976), is a Fijian-Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. A Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representa ...

Medal as the competition's best and fairest while also being named the rookie of the year, earning a NRL development contract with the

. Tuaupiki also won Burleigh's player of the year award to cap off his time at the Queensland Cup club.

New Zealand Warriors: 2023–present

Tuaupiki was one of a host of players who excelled in the

’ 48–12 win over

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional Rugby league, rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a j ...

in their first NRL trial at

Mount Smart Stadium Mount Smart Stadium (formerly known as Ericsson Stadium) is a multipurpose stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the main home ground of the New Zealand Warriors of the National Rugby League, and occasionally hosts rugby union and internatio ...

. Tuaupiki was upgraded to a fulltime NRL contract with the Warriors for the 2023 season. Tuaupiki made his first grade debut in his side's 26−12 victory over 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 ...

North Queensland Stadium North Queensland Stadium, commercially known as Queensland Country Bank Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in South Townsville, Queensland, Australia, primarily used for rugby league. History As part of Australia's 2022 FIFA World Cup bid in ...

in round 3 of the

2023 NRL season The 2023 NRL season is the 116th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 26th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams For the 2023 season, the number of teams in the NRL has increased from sixteen to seventeen with the ...

, impressing in the absence of the Warriors regular fullback

Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad (born 2 August 1995) is a professional rugby league footballer from New Zealand who plays as a for the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League (NRL). He has played for the Cook Islands, New Zealand, and the N ...

. He played fives games for the New Zealand Warriors in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished 4th on the table and qualified for the finals.

Honours

Individual * Petero Civoniceva Medal (Queensland Cup Player of the Year): 2022 * Queensland Cup Rookie of the Year: 2022 * Burleigh Bears Player of the Year: 2022

References

External links

New Zealand Warriors profile
1999 births Living people Australian rugby league players Burleigh Bears players New Zealand Warriors players People from Manly, New South Wales Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from Sydney {{Rugbyleague-bio-stub