Tamati Edward Ellison (born 1 April 1983) is a New Zealand

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 ...

footballer.

Career

Domestic

Ellison was born in

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 me ...

, and made his debut for the

Wellington Lions The Wellington Rugby Football Union (known as the Wellington Lions for competition reasons) are a New Zealand governing body of rugby union in the New Zealand province of Wellington Region. The main stadium is Sky Stadium (formerly named West ...

in the 2003 NPC final defeat against

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. He also captained the Lions during the 2007 Air New Zealand Cup, leading them to the final where they were once again defeated by Auckland. He was named as Wellington's Player of the Year for 2007. He made his

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 ...

debut in 2005 for the

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 ...

after being called into their squad as an injury replacement and appearing as a substitute in their final match of the season against 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, ...

. He made his

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 ...

debut in 2006 and went on to make 10 appearances that season, all coming from the bench. His run-on debut came against the Chiefs in 2007. He made his 50th Super Rugby appearance during the 2010 season. In March 2010, he confirmed he had activated a get-out clause in his NZRU contract to sign a three-year deal to play for the

Ricoh Black Rams Black Rams Tokyo (formerly Ricoh Black Rams) is a Japanese rugby union team in the Japan Rugby League One. Placed 10th in the 2004-2005 season which meant it had to win a play-off against one of the top regional teams to stay in the league, as it d ...

in the

Top League Japan Rugby League One (formerly the Top League) is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by absorbing the ...

. His agent reported that the deal was made in order to secure the financial future of Ellison's family. In 2011, it was confirmed that Ellison had signed with the Highlanders for the

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

seasons. In March 2013, it was announced that he had resigned for the Ricoh Black rams for the 2013–14 Top League season. In September 2013, it was announced that Ellison had signed with the

Rebels Rebels may refer to: * Participants in a rebellion * Rebel groups, people who refuse obedience or order * Rebels (American Revolution), patriots who rejected British rule in 1776 Film and television * ''Rebels'' (film) or ''Rebelles'', a 2019 ...

for the

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

season, reuniting with former teammates

Telusa Veainu Koloti Telusa Pelaki Veainu (born 26 December 1990) is a rugby union player. He plays at fullback or on the wing for Stade Français. He was born and raised in New Zealand, but he represents internationally. He is known for his speed, elusive ...

and

Scott Fuglistaller Scott Anthony Hans Fuglistaller (born 16 April 1987) is a New Zealand rugby union professional footballer. He plays for, and captains, the Melbourne Rebels in Super Rugby and the Melbourne Rising in the National Rugby Championship. His regular ...

International

Ellison captained the

Junior All Blacks The All Blacks XV is the second national rugby union team of New Zealand, after the All Blacks. New Zealand's second national team has had numerous names in its history: Junior All Blacks, New Zealand XV, New Zealand A, New Zealand B, All Blacks ...

to victory in the 2009 Pacific Nations Cup, a year after winning the 2008 edition as co-captain of the New Zealand Maori, alongside

Liam Messam Liam Justin Messam (born 25 March 1984) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays TOP14 for RC Toulonnais. In Super Rugby, he previously played for the , and for Waikato in the ITM Cup. Messam predominantly plays as a blindside flanker b ...

. He was chosen as one of four new caps for the All Blacks 2009 end of year tour to Europe and made his first test appearance in the 20–6 victory against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in Milan. As well as the All Blacks, Junior All Blacks and the New Zealand Maori, he played for the

New Zealand Sevens The New Zealand national rugby sevens team competes in the World Rugby Sevens Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens, Summer Olympic Games and the Commonwealth Games. They have won a record twelve World Rugby Sevens Series titles. The team has been o ...

, and represented New Zealand at U-21 and U-19 levels. He was part of the New Zealand Sevens team that won a gold medal at the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...

in Melbourne.

Personal life

Family

He is the grandson of All Black Vince Bevan, who played six tests for New Zealand between 1949–50, and son of rugby coach Eddie Ellison. He is the older brother of Jacob Ellison, who plays for the

Fukuoka Sanix Blues , formerly ''Fukuoka Sanix Blues'' and ''Fukuoka Sanix Bombs'', was a Japanese rugby union team based in Munakata, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Founded in April 1994 (Heisei 6), the team rose rapidly through the Kyūshū leagues and was in the Top ...

. He is related to former

American Football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player

Riki Ellison Riki Morgan Ellison (born 15 August 1960) is a New Zealand-American former professional player of American football who was a linebacker for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was known as Riki Gray while playing college foo ...

who played in the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

and the

Los Angeles Raiders The Los Angeles Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 before relocating back to Oakland, California, where the team played from its inaugural 1960 season to the 1981 season and then agai ...

and to current

player

Rhett Ellison Rhett Marshall Ellison (born October 3, 1988) is a former American football tight end and fullback who played seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at USC and was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in t ...

who plays for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

. He is also a descendant of

Thomas Ellison Thomas Rangiwahia Ellison, also known as Tom Ellison or Tamati Erihana (c. 1867 – 2 October 1904) was a New Zealand rugby union player and lawyer. He led the first New Zealand representative rugby team organised by the New Zealand Rugby ...

, captain of New Zealand's first official rugby team in 1893 and a member of the New Zealand Natives football team which toured

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

and

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 ...

in 1888–89.

Marriage

In June 2011 he married Meremaraea Cowan at a vineyard in

Martinborough Martinborough ( mi, Wharekaka) is a town in the South Wairarapa District, in the Wellington region of New Zealand. It is 65 kilometres east of Wellington and 35 kilometres south-west of Masterton. The town has a resident population of The town ...

. He first saw a picture of Meremaraea when he was a teenager at the home of his rugby coach, who also happened to be her uncle. Instead of wedding gifts they requested that guests donate to the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

appeals for the

Christchurch earthquake A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. local time (23:51 UTC, 21 February). The () earthquake struck the entire of the Canterbury region in the South Island, centred south-east ...

and the disaster in Japan. They have three children.

Super Rugby statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellison, Tamati Living people New Zealand international rugby union players 1983 births New Zealand rugby union players Melbourne Rebels players Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand Rugby union players from Wellington City Ngāi Tahu people Māori All Blacks players Rugby sevens players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games New Zealand male rugby sevens players Hurricanes (rugby union) players Highlanders (rugby union) players Otago rugby union players Wellington rugby union players Blues (Super Rugby) players Expatriate rugby union players in Japan Expatriate rugby union players in Australia New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Japan New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Australia Black Rams Tokyo players People educated at Mana College New Zealand international rugby sevens players Commonwealth Games rugby sevens players for New Zealand Commonwealth Games medallists in rugby sevens Ellison family Kurita Water Gush Akishima players Rugby union centres Medallists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games