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| Birth name | Tamati Edward Ellison | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | (1983-04-01)1 April 1983 (age 41) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Wellington, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 95 kg (14 st 13 lb; 209 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Mana College,Porirua | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | Victoria University of Wellington | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative(s) | Vincent Bevan (grandfather)Jacob Ellison (brother) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Tamati Edward Ellison (born 1 April 1983) is aNew Zealandrugby union footballer.
Ellison was born inWellington, and made his debut for theWellington Lions in the 2003NPC final defeat againstAuckland. He also captained the Lions during the2007 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.[1]
He made hisSuper Rugby debut in 2005 for theBlues after being called into their squad as an injury replacement and appearing as a substitute in their final match of the season against theNew South Wales Waratahs. He made hisHurricanes debut in 2006 and went on to make 10 appearances that season, all coming from the bench. His run-on debut came against theChiefs in 2007. He made his 50th Super Rugby appearance during the 2010 season.[1][2]
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 theRicoh Black Rams in theTop League. His agent reported that the deal was made in order to secure the financial future of Ellison's family.[3][4]
In 2011, it was confirmed that Ellison had signed with theHighlanders for the2012 and2013 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 theRebels for the2014 season,[5] reuniting with former teammatesTelusa Veainu andScott Fuglistaller.[6]
Ellison captained theJunior All Blacks to victory in the2009 Pacific Nations Cup, a year after winning the2008 edition asco-captain of theNew Zealand Maori, alongsideLiam Messam.[1][7]
He was chosen as one of four new caps for theAll Blacks2009 end of year tour to Europe and made his first test appearance in the 20–6 victory againstItaly in Milan.[8][9]
As well as the All Blacks, Junior All Blacks and the New Zealand Maori, he played for theNew Zealand Sevens, and represented New Zealand atU-21 andU-19 levels. He was part of the New Zealand Sevens team that won a gold medal at the2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.[1][7][10]
He is the grandson of All BlackVince Bevan, who played six tests for New Zealand between 1949–50, and son of rugby coach Eddie Ellison. He is the older brother ofJacob Ellison, who playsprop for theFukuoka Sanix Blues. He is related to formerAmerican Football playerRiki Ellison who played in theNFL for theSan Francisco 49ers and theLos Angeles Raiders and to currentNFL playerRhett Ellison who plays for theNew York Giants. He is also a descendant ofThomas Ellison, captain of New Zealand's first official rugby team in 1893 and a member of theNew Zealand Natives football team which touredGreat Britain andAustralia in 1888–89.[1][11][12]
In June 2011 he married Meremaraea Cowan at a vineyard inMartinborough. 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 theRed Cross appeals for theChristchurch earthquake and thedisaster in Japan. They have six children.[3][13][6]
| Season | Team | Games | Starts | Sub | Mins | Tries | Cons | Pens | Drops | Points | Yel | Red |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Blues | 1 | 1 | 0 | 79 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | Hurricanes | 8 | 0 | 8 | 151 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | Hurricanes | 11 | 3 | 8 | 405 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | Hurricanes | 10 | 5 | 5 | 441 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | Hurricanes | 13 | 11 | 2 | 886 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 | Hurricanes | 11 | 11 | 0 | 828 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | Highlanders | 15 | 15 | 0 | 1186 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | Highlanders | 8 | 8 | 0 | 633 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 0 |
| 2014 | Rebels | 15 | 15 | 0 | 1161 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 2015 | Rebels | 11 | 11 | 0 | 788 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | Rebels | 10 | 10 | 0 | 759 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 113 | 90 | 23 | 7317 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 2 | 0 | |
