Taniela Tupou (born 10 May 1996) is an Australian professional
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. He plays as a tight head
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 ...
for the
Queensland Reds in
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 has represented in international rugby. Born in Tonga he qualifies for Australia by residency.
Early life and career
Tupou became known as a schoolboy rugby player. While playing for Auckland’s
Sacred Heart College First XV in 2014, he became an internet sensation for his three tries against
Kelston Boys High School
Kelston Boys' High School ("KBHS") (Te kura tuarua o nga tamatane o kerehana) is an all-boys state secondary school in Kelston, a suburb in the Waitakere region of Auckland, New Zealand. It was created in 1963 when the roll of Kelston High Scho ...
, earning him the nickname "Tongan Thor".
[
On 22 June 2014, he was named in the Pacific Barbarians squad, captained by ]All Black
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, ...
legend Justin Marshall
Justin Warren Marshall (born 5 August 1973) is a New Zealand former rugby union player. He played 81 games for the New Zealand All Blacks between 1995 and 2005.
Marshall played for the in the Super 12 from 1996 to 2005, winning the competiti ...
, to play Tonga
Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...
during the 2014 mid-year rugby union internationals The 2014 mid-year rugby union internationals (also known as the summer internationals in the Northern Hemisphere) were international rugby union matches mostly played in the Southern Hemisphere during the June international window.
These matches w ...
. Tonga won the match 36–14 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 ...
in Auckland.
The following month Tupou was given a deadline to sign a loyalty agreement to be eligible for the New Zealand Schoolboys team. However, he declined the offer.[ Despite interest from rugby clubs in France and England as well as New Zealand Super Rugby franchises Chiefs and ]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 ...
, Tupou's desire to play for the Wallabies
A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and so ...
lured him to Australia where his brother, Criff Tupou, resided.
Michael Cheika
Michael Cheika (born 4 March 1967) is an Australian rugby union and rugby league coach, and former rugby union player. He is currently head coach of Argentina in rugby union and Lebanon in rugby league.
Cheika was the coach of the Australia r ...
, head coach of the New South Wales Waratahs
The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby competition. The Riverina and other southern parts of the state, ...
commented that he had an eye on Tupou well before he emerged on television with his three-try effort,[
]
Rugby career
Tupou played his first game for the Brothers Old Boys
Brothers Rugby Club (formally Brothers Old Boys) is an Australian rugby union club based in Brisbane, Queensland. The name alludes to its beginnings as a rugby club founded by alumni of schools established by the Congregation of Christian Brothe ...
club in 2015, in a trial match alongside his 25-year-old brother Criff Tupou.[ After completing the full 2015 season in ]Queensland Premier Rugby
Queensland Premier Rugby is a semi professional club rugby union competition in Queensland, Australia. Nine clubs play in the competition, eight of which are from Brisbane with one club from the Gold Coast. The premiership has been contested ...
with Brothers, he joined Queensland Country to play in the National Rugby Championship.[
After playing for Queensland Under-20 in 2016,][ he made his debut for the Reds in 2016.][ Tupou toured as a development player in the Australian national squad for the 2016 Wallabies tour.][ His strong NRC form for Queensland Country the following year led to his international debut for the Wallabies against at Murrayfield on 24 November 2017.][
]
Super Rugby statistics
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tupou, Taniela
1996 births
Australia international rugby union players
Australian rugby union players
Tongan rugby union players
Queensland Reds players
Rugby union props
Living people
People educated at Sacred Heart College, Auckland
Queensland Country (NRC team) players
Rugby union players from Tongatapu
2019 Rugby World Cup players
2023 Rugby World Cup players
Melbourne Rebels players