Tyrone Thompson (born 28 May 2000) 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 ...

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 it ...

player, who currently plays as a hooker for in New Zealand's domestic

National Provincial Championship The National Provincial Championship may refer to: * National Provincial Championship (1976–2005), original competition before reform into 14 sides * National Provincial Championship (2006–present) The National Provincial Championship, o ...

competition and the in Super Rugby.

Early life and career

Tyrone Thompson hails from

Muriwai Muriwai, also called Muriwai Beach, is a coastal community on the west coast of the Auckland Region in the North Island of New Zealand. The black-sand surf beach and surrounding area is a popular recreational area for Aucklanders. The Muriwai ...

, in the

Gisborne District Gisborne District or the Gisborne Region (Māori: ''Te Tairāwhiti'' or ''Te Tai Rāwhiti'') is a local government area of northeastern New Zealand. It is governed by Gisborne District Council, a unitary authority (with the combined powers o ...

in the northeastern corner of

's North Island. At the age of 5, he moved with his family to Napier in

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region i ...

. Tyrone and his twin brother Leo attended Napier Boys' High School, where they played first XV rugby together. He captained his team to a

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

Cup 1st XV title, beating the defending champions Hastings Boys' High School 20 - 10 at on 1 September 2018. Eight days later, they played in the National Top 4 Final, which Napier Boys' narrowly lost 28 - 31 to St Peter's College, Auckland. Thompson scored a try in that final. Thompson attended a Hurricanes Under 17 Development Camp in 2017 and a Hurricanes U18 Camp, a year later. After finishing high school, Thompson and his brother signed a contract with the Wellington Rugby Academy and moved to

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

. There, he plays club rugby for Marist St Pats, the club his father, uncle and cousins have also played for. Both Thompson brothers represented

at the Jock Hobbs Memorial National Under 19 Tournament in 2019, finishing the tournament in third place.

Senior career

On 28 August 2020, Thompson was named in the squad for the

2020 Mitre 10 Cup The 2020 Mitre 10 Cup season was the fifteenth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on September 11, when North Harbour hosted Canterbury. It involved the top ...

. He made his debut for the Lions - off the bench - against on 12 September 2020. He earned his first start and scored a brilliant 50m try - his first in the

- on 25 September 2020 against . Since his arrival in Wellington, Thompson has played several games for the Hurricanes U20 team and the Hurricanes Hunters (Development) squad. On 22 November 2021, Thompson was named in the squad for the

2022 Super Rugby Pacific season The 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season (known as Harvey Norman Super Rugby Pacific in Australia and DHL Super Rugby Pacific in New Zealand) is the 27th season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams ...

. He made his debut for the franchise (from the reserves bench) on 19 March 2022 against and scored a try on debut. Also on 19 March 2022, the

Hawke's Bay Rugby Union The Hawke's Bay Rugby Union (HBRU) is the governing body of rugby union in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand. The union is based in Napier. The Hawke's Bay representative team are nicknamed ''The Magpies''. History The Hawke's Bay Rugb ...

announced that Thompson had signed with the Union and would be joining the Magpies for the next two

seasons. He made his debut for the province – via the bench – on 6 August 2022 against and scored his first try for the Magpies on 12 August 2022 in a successful

Ranfurly Shield The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Shield is based on a challenge system. The holding union must defend the shield in challeng ...

defence against .

International career

In 2018, after his last year at Napier Boys' High School, Thompson was named in the New Zealand Secondary Schools team for a three-match international series in Australia. He played in all three games, including a 24 - 12 victory over Australian Schools. A year later, both Thompson and his twin brother Leo - who are of Ngāi Tāmanuhiri and Ngāti Rangiwewehi descent - were selected to play for the first ever New Zealand Māori Under 20 team in a match against . The NZ Māori Under 20 team won the game 48 to 31. Late 2019 and early 2020, Thompson was invited to attend the New Zealand Under 20 trial and development camps in preparation of the 2020

Oceania Rugby Under 20 Championship The Oceania Rugby Under 20 Championship is an international rugby union competition organised by Oceania Rugby, which is the regional governing body for rugby in Oceania. It is contested by men's junior national teams with an under-20 age requir ...

and World Rugby U20 Championship. Unfortunately, Thompson missed out on playing for the New Zealand Under 20 team, because these tournaments were cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. In June 2022, Thompson was – for the first time – named in the

Māori All Blacks The Māori All Blacks, previously called the New Zealand Maori, New Zealand Maoris and New Zealand Natives, are a rugby union team from New Zealand. They are a representative team of the New Zealand Rugby Union, and a prerequisite for playing i ...

squad to take on

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

on their New Zealand tour. He made his debut for the side on 29 June 2022, when the Māori All Blacks beat Ireland 32–17 in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

. On 26 October 2022, after an outstanding NPC season playing for , Thompson was called into the All Blacks XV squad that was named earlier that month for two matches against Ireland A and the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be les ...

during their Northern Tour. He made his debut for the side – via the bench – on 4 November 2022 against Ireland A. The All Blacks XV won the game 47–19.

References

External links

itsrugby.co.uk profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Tyrone 2000 births Living people People educated at Napier Boys' High School Ngāi Tāmanuhiri people Ngāti Rangiwewehi people New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand Māori rugby union players Rugby union players from the Gisborne Region Rugby union hookers Wellington rugby union players Chiefs (rugby union) players Hawke's Bay rugby union players Māori All Blacks players