Kuripitone "Tony" Tatupu is a former professional rugby league footballer. He played as a and in the and represented both New Zealand and Western Samoa. Tatupu is the uncle of the rugby league footballer;

Matthew Wright Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Chi ...

Playing career

Tatupu first played for the Mt Albert Lions in the Auckland competition before joining the North Harbour Sea Eagles for the 1994 Lion Red Cup season. Between 1991 and 1993 he played 12 games for Auckland. From there he joined the Auckland Warriors for their inaugural season in the Australian Rugby League competition. Along with Nigel Vagana he joined the Warrington Wolves in the

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 ...

competition in 1997 before returning to the Warriors for another two seasons. In 2000 he returned to England to finish his career at the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats. He stayed with the club during a time of financial turbulence mid-way through the 2000 season which saw all players aged over 24 released and then re-signed on limited wages.

Representative career

Tatupu represented Samoa at two World Cups, and two Pacific Cups. He was named in the 1992 Pacific Cups team of the tournament.

Later years

He now serves as a New Zealand Police officer and represented the

New Zealand Police The New Zealand Police ( mi, Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa) is the national police service and principal law enforcement agency of New Zealand, responsible for preventing crime, enhancing public safety, bringing offenders to justice, and maintai ...

at the inaugural Police World Cup. Tatupu's son Shem has been signed by

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

(AFL) club Hawthorn as an international rookie.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tatupu, Tony 1969 births Living people Auckland rugby league team players Expatriate rugby league players in England Mount Albert Lions players New Zealand expatriate rugby league players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England New Zealand police officers New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand Warriors players New Zealand people of Samoan descent North Harbour rugby league team players Rugby league second-rows Rugby league centres Samoa national rugby league team players Wakefield Trinity players Warrington Wolves players