Lote Daulako Tuqiri (born 23 September 1979) is a former professional dual-code

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union or rugby league. Rugby football started at Rugby School in Rugby, Warwickshire, England, where the rules were first codified in 1845. Forms of football in which the ball ...

er who primarily played as a winger across both codes. He represented Australia in both

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

and

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

, and

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

in rugby league. Tuqiri first rose to prominence as a professional

footballer for the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Red Hill, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos compete in the National Rugby League (NRL) and play their home games at ...

and

Queensland Maroons The Queensland rugby league team represents the Australian state of Queensland in rugby league football. Nicknamed the "Maroons" after the colour of their jersey, they play three times a year against arch-rivals New South Wales rugby league tea ...

, as well as the

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

national sides. He was therefore a high-profile signing for rugby union in 2002, winning 67 caps for

and being a part of their 2003 and 2007

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

squads. He played rugby union for the Waratahs in the

Super 14 Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...

and

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its home ...

in England in season 2009–10. Tuqiri's contract with the

Australian Rugby Union Rugby Australia Ltd, previously named Australian Rugby Union Limited and Australian Rugby Football Union Limited, is an Australian company operating the premier rugby union competition in Australia and teams. It has its origins in 1949. It is a ...

was terminated on 1 July 2009.Tuqiri ousted by the ARU
No immediate reason was given, and Tuqiri returned to rugby league in 2010, playing for the

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers is an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West of Sydney and South Western Sydney. The Tigers have competed in the National Rugby League (NRL) since being formed at the end of the 1999 N ...

of the NRL. In September 2013, he signed a short-term contract with Irish rugby union giants,

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

to play in the Pro12 in a three-month deal. Just 6 weeks out from the 2014 NRL season, Tuqiri signed with his third NRL club, the

South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club, also known as the South Sydney Rabbitohs, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Maroubra, New South Wales, Maroubra that competes in the Nat ...

, on a one-year deal.

Background

Tuqiri was born in Korolevu,

to mother Titilia and father Tukula and grew up in Namatakula with family including older sister Mela, older brother Tevita and sister Sereana. He moved to Australia with his family at the age of 4, settling at

Sunnybank, Queensland Sunnybank is a Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is known for its many Asian shops and restaurants. In the , Sunnybank had a population of 8,892 people. History The Jagera (tribe), ...

(a suburb of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

) where he began playing competitive sport for the Souths Sunnybank Rugby League while attending school at Sunnybank State High School.

Professional career

While signed with the

, he also played for the

Past Brothers The Past Brothers Rugby League Football Club, or Brisbane Brothers Rugby League Football Club nicknamed the Leprechauns, or more commonly known as Brothers, or as The Brethren, was a rugby league club based in the city of Brisbane, Australia, ...

in the

Queensland Cup The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league, rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League, Queensland Rugby ...

Rugby league

Tuqiri won the

1999 Brisbane Broncos season The 1999 Brisbane Broncos season was the twelfth in the club's history. Coached by Wayne Bennett and captained by Allan Langer then Kevin Walters, they competed in the NRL's 1999 premiership, finishing the regular season 8th (out of 17) and re ...

's rookie of the year award. In

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, he secured his regular spot in the first grade line-up at the club. At the end of the season Tuqiri played for the Broncos on the wing, scoring one try in their 2000 NRL Grand Final victory over the

Sydney Roosters Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club, known as the Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern Suburbs. The club competes in the National Rugby Lea ...

. After that he travelled to England as captain of the Fiji national team for the 2000 World Cup. The Bati failed to advance past the group stage, winning one of their three matches, but Tuqiri was his team's top try and goal scorer for the tournament. Having won the 2000 NRL Premiership, the Broncos travelled to England to play against 2000's

Super League V Tetley's Bitter Super League was the official name for the year 2000's Super League championship season, the 106th season of top-level professional rugby league football in Britain, and the fifth championship run by the Super League. The season c ...

Champions, St Helens for the

2001 World Club Challenge The 2001 World Club Challenge was contested between Super League V champions, St. Helens and 2000 NRL season premiers, the Brisbane Broncos. The Broncos made the trip to England to play St Helens before the start of the 2001 NRL and Super Leagu ...

, with Tuqiri playing on the wing in Brisbane's loss. Tuqiri was one of many players picked by

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

for their debut appearance during the

2001 State of Origin series The 2001 State of Origin series was the 20th year that the annual three-game series between the Queensland and New South Wales representative rugby league football teams was contested entirely under ' state of origin' selection rules. The series ...

. He played in all three matches, scored Queensland's opening try and played impressively throughout the series, which was won by the Maroons. During the season he also went on to play test football for

. He was picked to represent Australia against

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, scoring a try in the 28–10 victory in the one-off Test match. Tuqiri was also the Broncos' top try-scorer for the 2001 season with 21, the second highest number of tries scored in a season by a Brisbane player. At the end of the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

, he went on the

2001 Kangaroo tour The 2001 Kangaroo Tour was the Australia national rugby league team's nineteenth Kangaroo tour of Great Britain. The truncated tour featured only the three Ashes series Test matches against Great Britain. The 2001 tour was almost abandoned du ...

. As early as January 2002 it was being reported that the

was seeking Tuqiri's signature. His 2002 season was also an impressive one, and he showed much of his renowned strength and speed, setting in round 9 a new club record for most points scored by one player in a single match. Once more he topped the Broncos' try-scoring ladder for the season (along with

Darren Lockyer Darren James Lockyer (born 24 March 1977) is an Australian television commentator and former professional rugby league footballer. Lockyer was an Australian international and Queensland State representative captain, who played his entire profe ...

and Chris Walker) and again he represented both Queensland and Australia. Playing in all three games of the

2002 State of Origin series The 2002 State of Origin series saw the 21st time that the annual three-game series between the Queensland and New South Wales representative rugby league football teams was played entirely under ' state of origin' selection rules. It was the s ...

, Tuqiri scored in each match, amassing a total of 28 points. He also became one of a select few players to score a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in an interstate match. At the 2002

Dally M Awards The Dally M Awards are the official annual player awards for the National Rugby League competition. As well as honouring the player of the year, who received the Dally M Medal, awards are also given to the premier player in each position, the be ...

he was named as winger of the year. At the end of the season, after the announcement of his switch to rugby union, he was overlooked for selection at the end of season Test against New Zealand. Altogether, Tuqiri played 99 games for Brisbane between 1999 and 2002 and clocked up a tally of 260 points before his switch to

. His last game for the Broncos was the 16–12 preliminary final loss against eventual premiers the

Rugby union

Tuqiri's talent attracted the interest of the

, and at the end of the 2002 football season he announced that he had signed a contract to play rugby union in 2003 with the

New South Wales Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), often referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team based in Sydney that represents the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby Pacific competition. The Waratahs play t ...

, and was therefore leaving rugby league. In 2003, he switched codes, moving from rugby league to play rugby with the Waratahs. Tuqiri's transition to rugby union proved to be successful, and his speed and strength gained him selection 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 som ...

, for whom he made his international union debut in June 2003 against

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, becoming Australia's 43rd dual code rugby international. He was one of four former Queensland Maroons players to feature in two of the top three teams in the

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England national rugby union team, England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispu ...

, along with

Mat Rogers Mathew Steve Rogers (born 1 February 1976) is an Australian former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. He played both codes at the highest level, becoming a dual-code international. He ...

and

Wendell Sailor Wendell Jermaine Sailor (born 16 July 1974) is an Australian former professional rugby footballer who represented his country in both rugby league and rugby union – a dual code international. In rugby league Sailor was a member of the succes ...

for Australia and

Brad Thorn Bradley Carnegie Thorn (born 3 February 1975) is a New Zealand Australian rugby union coach and former rugby league and rugby union footballer. Born in New Zealand, he represented Australia in rugby league and New Zealand in rugby union in a t ...

for the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

. Tuqiri scored tries against

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

and

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

during the pool stages, and scored the Wallabies' only try in the final against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He finished the tournament as one of the top try scorers for Australia, behind Rogers and Chris Latham. In 2004 Tuqiri toured the United Kingdom and France with the Wallabies. On the Wallabies 2005 tour of Europe he was moved in-field to

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

due to a considerable loss of backs through injury during that tour. In 2006, he was selected to represent Australia in the

Rugby Sevens Rugby sevens (commonly known simply as sevens, and originally seven-a-side rugby) is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players playing seven-minute halves, instead of the usual 15 players playing 40-minute halves. R ...

event at the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...

in Melbourne. That season the Waratahs were semi-finalists in the Super 14 competition. During that year's Tri Nations series Tuqiri was suspended for five games after a dangerous tackle on All Blacks captain,

Richie McCaw Richard Hugh McCaw (born 31 December 1980) is a retired New Zealand professional rugby union player. He captain (sports), captained the New Zealand national rugby union team, New Zealand national team, the All Blacks, in 110 out of his 148 t ...

During 2006–07 there was speculation regarding his future and whether he would stay in rugby union or return to rugby league. Tuqiri had stated that he was considering returning to league after the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup () was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by F ...

, following the footsteps of fellow Waratah

. Tuqiri had options to re-sign his contract with either the Waratahs or the

Reds Reds may refer to: General * Red (political adjective), supporters of Communism or socialism * ''Reds'' (film), a 1981 American film starring and directed by Warren Beatty * Reds (January Uprising), a faction of the Polish insurrectionists duri ...

in the

, or numerous clubs in the NRL, including the

and

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the Sutherland Shire of Southern Sydney, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. Cronulla compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugb ...

. After being given a 5:00 pm deadline on 13 March 2007 to either accept or decline the offer from the Australian Rugby Union he announced he had decided to stay in rugby union for the next five years. During a 2007 Super 14 game, Tuqiri pushed Sam Norton-Knight in the back after Norton-Knight "made a poor on-field decision". Tuqiri's contract would ordinarily have meant that he would stay with the Waratahs and the Wallabies until the year 2012, but on 1 July 2009 the ARU announced an unexplained, immediate termination of the contract. Subsequently, it has been suggested that the reason for the termination of his contract was that he had entertained a 20-year-old student in his room, in breach of strict team rules. He made his debut for the

off the bench against the

Springboks The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabhokobhoko) is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...

on 6 November 2009 and the Tigers

defeated Defeated may refer to: * "Defeated" (Breaking Benjamin song) * "Defeated" (Anastacia song) *"Defeated", a song by Snoop Dogg from the album ''Bible of Love'' *Defeated, Tennessee Defeated is an unincorporated community in Smith County, Tennessee ...

the World cup holders.

Return to rugby league

In February 2010, Tuqiri officially announced a return to rugby league after a seven-year absence. Signing a three-year deal with NRL club

, he was due to arrive in Australia at the end of March, a few weeks into the

2010 NRL season The 2010 NRL season was the 103rd season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the thirteenth run by the National Rugby League (NRL). The season commenced on 12 March and ended with the grand final, played on 3 ...

but instead he returned home early to play the Tigers' first home game in the 2010 season against Manly. He played his last game of rugby union against

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club that most recently competed in the Premiership Rugby, Premiership, the top division of rugby union in England. The club also participated in the European Rugby Champions Cup, European Champion ...

where his Leicester side won 35–19. In his return to rugby league, he scored a try on his first touch of the ball, and at least one try in each of his first three games including a double against the Parramatta Eels on 26 March. His form in his return season for the Tigers continued to be strong and the club came within one match of the 2010 Grand Final. On 19 October 2010, Tuqiri was officially named in the Australian squad for the Four Nations as a replacement for the injured

Jarryd Hayne Jarryd Lee Hayne (born 1988) is an Australian semi-professional rugby league footballer who plays for Wentworthville Magpies in the Ron Massey Cup. He briefly moved to the US to play the running back position for San Francisco 49ers in the 2 ...

. He played for the Kangaroos in all four matches, including the final, scoring one try. He became the first code-crosser to play test rugby league for Australia a second time after returning from rugby union. Wests Tigers made the semis again in 2011, suffering a broken arm, quad strain and an injury to his ankle. Similarly, injury disrupted his 2012 season. He played his first game in round 5, and was a regular on the wing before breaking his upper arm in July. Coach Sheens said at the time, "The arm’s broken, so that’ll be the end of his season." Before the start of the 2013 season, Tuqiri suffered a setback when scans revealed his broken arm had not healed. He had plates inserted into the arm and underwent bone grafts. He eventually made his return to first grade in round 23, playing in four games for his final season with Wests Tigers. In September 2013, he signed a short-term contract with Irish rugby union team,

to play in the Pro12 in a three-month deal. On 22 January, six weeks out from the 2014 NRL season, Tuqiri signed with his third NRL club, the South Sydney Rabbitohs, on a one-year deal. This deal is reportedly to add depth to the significantly reduced outside back stocks at the club. Tuqiri's rugby league career was expected to be over following the conclusion of the 2013 NRL season when his previous club, the Wests Tigers opted not to offer Tuqiri an extension to his contract after several injury-plagued season significantly reduced his on-field involvement for the club. In May 2014, Tuqiri played for

in the 2014 Pacific Rugby League International. He kicked two goals, and scored a try, but it wasn't enough as Fiji lost the match by 32–16. Tuqiri turned 35 during the 2014 season and was the oldest player in the NRL at the time. On 5 October 2014, Tuqiri was a part of the South Sydney side who defeated the

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilitated by ...

30–6 in the

2014 NRL Grand Final The 2014 NRL Grand Final was the concluding and premiership-deciding match of the 2014 NRL season. Played on the evening of Sunday 5 October 2014 at ANZ Stadium, the match was contested by the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Canterbury-Bankstown ...

ANZ Stadium Stadium Australia, currently known as Accor Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the suburb of Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The stadium, which is sometimes referred to as Sydney Ol ...

, Sydney. It was Tuqiri's second NRL title in his career, having won a previous NRL Premiership with the Brisbane Broncos earlier in his career.

Family

Tuqiri is the cousin of his namesake, Fijian-born Japanese Rugby Sevens player

Lote Tuqiri Lote Daulako Tuqiri (born 23 September 1979) is a former professional dual-code rugby footballer who primarily played as a winger across both codes. He represented Australia in both rugby league and rugby union, and Fiji in rugby league. Tuqir ...

References

External links

*
Lote Tuqiri Official WebsiteWests Tigers profileLeicester Tigers profileWaratahs profile
*
NRL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuqiri, Lote 1979 births Living people 2003 Rugby World Cup players 2007 Rugby World Cup players Australia international rugby sevens players Australia international rugby union players Australia national rugby league team players Australian expatriate sportspeople in Ireland Australian rugby league players Australian rugby union players Brisbane Broncos players Commonwealth Games rugby sevens players for Australia Dual-code rugby internationals Australian expatriate rugby union players in England Expatriate rugby union players in Ireland Expatriate rugby union players in Japan Fiji national rugby league team captains Fiji national rugby league team players Fijian emigrants to Australia Fijian expatriate sportspeople in England Fijian expatriate sportspeople in Ireland Fijian rugby league players Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay players Leicester Tigers players Male rugby sevens players New South Wales Waratahs players North Sydney Bears NSW Cup players Past Brothers players People educated at Marist Brothers High School, Fiji People from Korolevu People from Namatakula Queensland Rugby League State of Origin players Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from Nadroga-Navosa Province Rugby league wingers Rugby sevens players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Rugby union players from Nadroga-Navosa Province Rugby union wings South Sydney Rabbitohs players Wests Tigers NSW Cup players Wests Tigers players