| Born | (1992-08-08)8 August 1992 (age 33) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 111 kg (17 st 7 lb; 245 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Pukekohe High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | Tūākau College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Jimmy Tupou (born 8 August 1992) is aNew Zealandrugby union player who plays as alock orloose forward for theCounties Manukau Steelers in New Zealand's domesticMitre 10 Cup and theBlues in the internationalSuper Rugby competition.[1][2][3]
Born in Auckland, Tupou attendedPukekohe High School where he initially playedrugby league before finally trying his hand at union in his senior year. He was quickly fast-tracked into the Counties Manukau Under-18 side and later played a key role in helping his club side, Patumahoe lift the McNamara Cup, the senior premier club title in Counties Manukau, in 2012.[3][4]
Coming off the back of impressive performances for New Zealand at Under-20 level, Tupou made the Counties Manukau squad for the2012 ITM Cup. Despite having just turned 20 before the tournament started, he instantly became a regular starter for the Steelers, playing nine times and scoring one try as the men from Pukekohe lifted the Championship trophy and earned promotion to the Premiership for 2013.
He continued to excel at Premiership level, playing nine times in2013,2014 and2015 and later being named co-captain for the2016 season. Being one of the senior players in an inexperienced line up he performed admirably, starting 10 of the Steelers' 11 games during a campaign which took them to the Premiership semi-finals before they succumbed to eventual winnersCanterbury.[5]
Strong performances in his debut season at provincial level with Counties Manukau saw him named in theCrusaders squad ahead of the2013 Super Rugby season.[6] In a star-studded squad featuring the likes ofRichie McCaw andKieran Read in the loose forward department, Tupou's rookie season at Super Rugby level was limited to just two substitute appearances. However, over the following three seasons spent in Canterbury, he became a regular in the 23 man squad. With his appearances generally restricted to that of a second-half substitute, he turned out 12, 11 and 12 times across the2014,2015 and2016 seasons.[5]
Looking for more game time, he agreed a move north to join theAuckland-basedBlues ahead of the2017 Super Rugby season.[7]
Tupou was a member of theNew Zealand Under 20 team that finished as runner-up in the2012 IRB Junior World Championship inSouth Africa. He scored one try in four appearances at the tournament.[8][9]
Counties Manukau
| Season | Team | Games | Starts | Sub | Mins | Tries | Cons | Pens | Drops | Points | Yel | Red |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Crusaders | 2 | 0 | 2 | 53 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | Crusaders | 12 | 1 | 11 | 239 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | Crusaders | 11 | 2 | 9 | 294 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | Crusaders | 12 | 4 | 8 | 434 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 37 | 7 | 30 | 1020 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |