Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Born | Auckland, New Zealand | 3 February 1989|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 166 cm (5 ft 5 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 77 kg (12 st 2 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Centre, Wing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: RLP As of 28 November 2020 |
Atawhai Tupaea (born 3 February 1989) is a New Zealand rugby league footballer who played as a centre for the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL Women's Premiership.
She is a New Zealand representative.
Born in Auckland, Tupaea represented New Zealand in touch football before switching to rugby league.[1]
In 2014, Tupaea began playing for the Papakura Sisters and represented Counties Manukau.[2] On 9 November 2014, she made her Test debut for New Zealand, scoring a try in their 12–8 win over Australia at WIN Stadium.[3] On 28 January 2015, she was named the NZRL Women's Player of the Year.[4]
On 6 May 2016, she started on the wing and scored two tries for New Zealand in their 26–16 win over Australia.[5]
In 2017, she played all five games for New Zealand at the 2017 Women's Rugby League World Cup, including starting on the wing in their 16–23 final loss to Australia.[6]
In 2019, Tupaea returned to rugby league after a year off and was signed by the New Zealand Warriors NRL Women's Premiership team.[7] In Round 1 of the 2019 NRL Women's season, she made her debut for the Warriors, starting at centre and scoring a try in their 16–12 win over the Sydney Roosters.[8]
In October 2019, she was a member of New Zealand's 2019 Rugby League World Cup 9s-winning squad.[9]