Taniela Tupou (rugby union)
{{short description|Australian rugby union footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{EngvarB|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox rugby biography
|name = Taniela Tupou
|fullname = Taniela Tupou
|image =
|image_size =
|position = Prop
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1996|05|10}}
|birth_place = Tongatapu, Tonga
|height = {{convert|178|cm|ftin|abbr=on}}
|weight = {{convert|150|kg|stlb|abbr=on}}
| years1 = 2017–2018
| clubs1 = {{Rut|Queensland Country}}
| apps1 =
| points1 =
| ru_clubupdate = 16 July 2023
| superyears1 = 2016–2023
| super1 = Reds
| superapps1 = 88
| superpoints1 = 120
| superyears2 = 2024
| super2 = Rebels
| superapps2 = 14
| superpoints2 = 5
| superyears3 = 2025–
| super3 = Waratahs
| superapps3 = 0
| superpoints3 = 0
| super14update = 8 June 2024
| repyears1 = 2017–
| repteam1 = Australia
| repcaps1 = 51
| reppoints1 = 30
| ru_ntupdate = 24 September 2023
}}
Taniela Tupou (born 10 May 1996) is an Australian professional rugby union player. He plays as a tight head prop for the Waratahs in the Super Rugby Pacific and has represented {{nrut|Australia}} in international rugby. Born in Tonga he qualifies for Australia by residency.
{{toc level|3}}
Early life and career
Tupou became known as a schoolboy rugby player. While playing for Auckland’s Sacred Heart College First XV in 2014, he became an internet sensation for his three tries against Kelston Boys High School, earning him the nickname "Tongan Thor".
On 22 June 2014, he was named in the Pacific Barbarians squad, captained by All Black legend Justin Marshall, to play Tonga during the 2014 mid-year rugby union internationals. Tonga won the match 36–14 at Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland.
The following month Tupou was given a deadline to sign a loyalty agreement to be eligible for the New Zealand Schoolboys team. However, he declined the offer. Despite interest from rugby clubs in France and England as well as New Zealand Super Rugby franchises Chiefs and Blues,{{cite web |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/10060466/Tongan-teen-Taniela-Tupou-on-the-Blues-radar |title=Tongan teen Taniela Tupou on the Blues' radar |author=Marc Hinton |publisher=Stuff |date=20 May 2014 |access-date=18 January 2022}} Tupou's desire to play for the Wallabies lured him to Australia where his brother, Criff Tupou, resided.{{cite web |url=https://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/wallabies/teenage-rugby-superstar-taniela-tupou-the-tongan-thor-snubs-all-blacks-to-defect-to-australia/news-story/1ea6f8c95631a5cc76f07d84433eb3fb |title=Teenage rugby superstar Taniela Tupou, the Tongan Thor, snubs All Blacks to defect to Australia |publisher=FoxSports |date= |access-date=18 January 2022}}
Michael Cheika, head coach of the New South Wales Waratahs commented that he had an eye on Tupou well before he emerged on television with his three-try effort,{{cite web |url=https://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/wallabies/tongan-thor-taniela-tupou-set-to-snub-new-zealand-and-defect-to-australia/news-story/098aceb5aed9c46d3eb10e48f8a3a550 |title='Tongan Thor' Taniela Tupou set to snub New Zealand and defect to Australia |work=Fox Sports |date= |access-date=18 January 2022}} but on 12 September 2014 Tupou was officially named in the Queensland Reds squad for the 2015 season.
Rugby career
Tupou played his first game for the Brothers Old Boys club in 2015, in a trial match alongside his 25-year-old brother Criff Tupou. After completing the full 2015 season in Queensland Premier Rugby with Brothers, he joined Queensland Country to play in the National Rugby Championship.
After playing for Queensland Under-20 in 2016, he made his debut for the Reds in 2016. Tupou toured as a development player in the Australian national squad for the 2016 Wallabies tour. His strong NRC form for Queensland Country the following year led to his international debut for the Wallabies against {{nrut|Scotland}} at Murrayfield on 24 November 2017.
Super Rugby statistics
{{updated|1 May 2022|{{hsp}}{{cite web |title=Player Statistics |work=It's Rugby |url=http://www.itsrugby.co.uk/player_33813.html}}}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" | |||||||||||
| Season | Team
!style="width:25px"|{{Tooltip|Apps|Appearances – matches played}} !style="width:25px"|{{Tooltip|Start|Matches as starting player}} !style="width:25px"|{{Tooltip|Sub|Matches as substitute player}} !style="width:25px"|{{Tooltip|Mins|Minutes}} !style="width:25px"|{{Tooltip|T|Tries}} !style="width:25px"|{{Tooltip|C|Conversions}} !style="width:25px"|{{Tooltip|PG|Penalty goals}} !style="width:25px"|{{Tooltip|DG|Drop goals}} !style="width:25px"|{{Tooltip|Pts|Points scored}} !style="width:25px"|{{Tooltip|YC|Yellow cards}} !style="width:25px"|{{Tooltip|RC|Red cards}} | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | {{Rut|Reds}}
| 3 | 0 | 3 | 108 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | {{Rut|Reds}}
| 14 | 4 | 10 | 531 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | {{Rut|Reds}}
| 15 | 15 | 0 | 916 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 0 |
| 2019
|{{Rut|Reds}} |15 |13 |2 |887 |4 |0 |0 |0 |20 |1 |0 | |||||||||||
| 2020
|{{Rut|Reds}} |7 |7 |0 |513 |3 |0 |0 |0 |15 |1 |0 | |||||||||||
| 2020 AU
|{{Rut|Reds}} |10 |10 |0 |708 |1 |0 |0 |0 |5 |1 |0 | |||||||||||
| 2021 AU
|{{Rut|Reds}} |9 |8 |1 |582 |5 |0 |0 |0 |25 |0 |0 | |||||||||||
| 2021 TT
|{{Rut|Reds}} |5 |4 |1 |250 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 | |||||||||||
| 2022
|{{Rut|Reds}} |9 |7 |2 |555 |3 |0 |0 |0 |15 |2 |0 | |||||||||||
| 2023
|{{Rut|Reds}} |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 | |||||||||||
| 2023
|{{Rut|Rebels}} |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 | |||||||||||
| colspan="2" |Total
! 88 | 69 | 19 | 5,173 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 120 | 6 | 0 |
References
{{Reflist|25em|refs=
|date=13 May 2014
|title=Video: Watch Sacred Heart College student Daniel Tupou score a devastating hat-trick
|website=FoxSports
|accessdate=25 November 2017
|url=http://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/video-watch-sacred-heart-college-student-daniel-tupou-score-a-devastating-hattrick/story-e6frf4pu-1226916280204
|url-status=live
|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20140911121835/http://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/video-watch-sacred-heart-college-student-daniel-tupou-score-a-devastating-hattrick/story-e6frf4pu-1226916280204?nk=7da527789b60fa8104f6c43bf6f377e5
|archivedate=11 September 2014
}}
|date=8 September 2014
|title='Tongan Thor' Taniela Tupou set to snub New Zealand and defect to Australia
|work=The Courier-Mail
|accessdate=25 November 2017
|url=http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/rugby/tongan-thor-taniela-tupou-set-to-snub-new-zealand-and-defect-to-australia/story-fnp0m105-1227050655864
|url-status=live
|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20140911222552/http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/rugby/tongan-thor-taniela-tupou-set-to-snub-new-zealand-and-defect-to-australia/story-fnp0m105-1227050655864?nk=0cd6aa796ffe19eb3bf502d99b4f8aa2
|archivedate=11 September 2014
}}
|date=12 September 2014
|title='Tongan Thor' Taniela Tupou joins St.George Queensland Reds in 2015
|website=Reds Rugby
|accessdate=25 November 2017
|url=http://www.redsrugby.com.au/News/NewsArticles/tabid/581/ArticleID/12374/%E2%80%98Tongan-Thor%E2%80%99-Taniela-Tupou-joins-St-George-Queensland-Reds-in-2015.aspx
|url-status=live
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311105523/http://www.redsrugby.com.au/News/NewsArticles/tabid/581/ArticleID/12374/%E2%80%98Tongan-Thor%E2%80%99-Taniela-Tupou-joins-St-George-Queensland-Reds-in-2015.aspx
|archivedate=11 March 2016
}}
|date=28 February 2015
|title=Queensland Reds prodigy Taniela Tupou, better known as Tongan Thor, makes debut for Brothers club
|work=FoxSports
|url=http://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/queensland-reds-prodigy-taniela-tupou-better-known-as-tongan-thor-makes-debut-for-brothers-club/story-e6frf4pu-1227243075496
|accessdate=25 November 2017
|url-status=live
|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20150301025151/http://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/queensland-reds-prodigy-taniela-tupou-better-known-as-tongan-thor-makes-debut-for-brothers-club/story-e6frf4pu-1227243075496
|archivedate=1 March 2015
}}
|date=18 August 2015
|title=NRC Preview: Five Rookies to watch in 2015
|website=Green and Gold Rugby
|accessdate=25 November 2017
|url=http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/nrc-preview-five-rookies-to-watch-in-2015/
|url-status=live
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904071522/http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/nrc-preview-five-rookies-to-watch-in-2015/
|archivedate=4 September 2017
}}
|date=25 February 2016
|title=Queensland Under-20s team named for inaugural Super U20s Championship clash against NSW
|website=Reds Rugby
|accessdate=25 November 2017
|url=http://www.redsrugby.com.au/News/NewsArticles/tabid/581/ArticleID/17117/Queensland-Under-20s-team-named-for-inaugural-Super-U20s-Championship-clash-against-NSW.aspx
|url-status=live
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160301014718/http://www.redsrugby.com.au/News/NewsArticles/tabid/581/ArticleID/17117/Queensland-Under-20s-team-named-for-inaugural-Super-U20s-Championship-clash-against-NSW.aspx
|archivedate=1 March 2016
}}
|date=26 August 2016
|title=For Taniela Tupou, the opportunity to be coached by Wallabies legend Toutai Kefu is a dream come true.
|publisher=Rugby Australia
|accessdate=25 November 2017
|url=https://www.rugby.com.au/news/2016/08/16/07/48/wallabies-legend-to-team-up-with-tongan-thor
|url-status=live
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20171125184112/https://www.rugby.com.au/news/2016/08/16/07/48/wallabies-legend-to-team-up-with-tongan-thor
|archivedate=25 November 2017
}}
|date=26 October 2016
|title='Tongan Thor' Taniela Tupou selected for Wallabies European tour
|work=Stuff
|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/international/85770438/tongan-thor-selected-for-wallabies-european-tour
|accessdate=25 November 2017
|url-status=live
|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20171125183915/http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/international/85770438/tongan-thor-selected-for-wallabies-european-tour
|archivedate=25 November 2017
}}
|date=25 November 2017
|title=Scotland vs Wallabies: Player ratings
|publisher=Rugby Australia
|accessdate=25 November 2017
|url=http://www.rugby.com.au/news/2017/11/25/sco-aus-player-ratings
|url-status=live
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20171125170628/http://www.rugby.com.au/news/2017/11/25/sco-aus-player-ratings
|archivedate=25 November 2017
}}
}}
{{NSW Waratahs squad}}
{{Australia Squad 2019 Rugby World Cup}}
{{Australia 2023 Rugby World Cup squad}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tupou, Taniela}}
Category:Australia international rugby union players
Category:Australian rugby union players
Category:Tongan rugby union players
Category:Queensland Reds players
Category:People educated at Sacred Heart College, Auckland
Category:Queensland Country (NRC team) players
Category:Rugby union players from Tongatapu
Category:2019 Rugby World Cup players
Category:2023 Rugby World Cup players
Category:Melbourne Rebels players