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Taulima Tautai
Personal information
Born (1988-04-03) 3 April 1988 (age 36)[1]
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Playing information
Height190 cm (6 ft 3 in)[1]
Weight116 kg (18 st 4 lb)[1]
PositionProp, Second-row, Lock, Centre, Wing
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2008–09 Parramatta Eels 30 9 0 0 36
2010–11 Cronulla Sharks 33 4 0 0 16
2012–13 Parramatta Eels 9 1 0 0 4
2013–14 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 26 2 0 0 8
2015–19 Wigan Warriors 133 4 0 0 16
Total 231 20 0 0 80
Source: [2][3]

Taulima Tautai born 3 April 1988[4] is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer, who has most recently played as a prop for the Wigan Warriors in the Super League. He previously played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Parramatta Eels and the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats.

Background

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Born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Tautai attended St Gregory's College, Campbelltown.[5]

Taulima played his junior rugby league for CVD Edensor Park Cobras, before being signed by the Parramatta Eels.

Playing career

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Tautai's position of choice was originally in the centres or on the wing.

He made his first-grade début for the Parramatta Eels in round 1 of the 2008 NRL season, going on to play 30 games for the club between 2008 and 2009. Tautai won Parramatta Eels' rookie of the season award in 2008.

Although born in Sydney, Tautai is of Samoan and New Zealand descent. Because of his heritage, he was named in the Samoan[6] and New Zealand training squads for the 2008 World Cup.[7] However, he suffered an injury and did not make the final squad for either nation.

Tautai played 33 games for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks between 2010 and 2011.

He returned to the Parramatta Eels in 2012 but injury and form kept him to only 9 appearances. Tautai was part of the Parramatta side that finished last in the competition that year which was the first time the club had finished last since 1972.[8][9]

Tautai joined the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats in the Super League for the 2013 and 2014 seasons, playing in 22 matches.

Tautai joined the Wigan Warriors in November 2014, signing a three-year deal.[10]

He played from the bench in the 2016 Super League Grand Final victory over the Warrington Wolves at Old Trafford.[11]

He played in the 2017 Challenge Cup Final defeat by Hull F.C. at Wembley Stadium.[12]

In 2018, he played over 20 matches for the season, but was not selected in the finals series, and was not a part of the 2018 Super League Grand Final final winning side.[13][14] Tautai left the Wigan Warriors in June 2019 following a drink-driving conviction.[15]

Whilst Tautai was known mostly for his Rugby career, he took place in charity and community work off the field. He donated his 2016 Grand Final ring to a local Wigan family to assist them in raising money for the SANDs charity. A Charity that looks after family who have lost their babies.[16] Alongside his wife, they started the Wigan Warriors Campaign 'Respect Her' after working with the Women's Refuge to draw attention to issues within the local community.[17] Tautai also shaved off his long locks to raise money for suicide awareness in honour of his mother-in-law 'The Jenny Project'.[18]

On 30 June 2019, he announced that he would be retiring from rugby league.[19]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Taulima Tautai Wigan Warriors". Superleague.co.uk. Rugby Football League. 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  2. ^ "loverugbyleague".
  3. ^ Ferguson, Shawn Dollin and Andrew. "Taulima Tautai - Career Stats & Summary - Rugby League Project". Rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  4. ^ "Taulima Tautai - Parramatta Eels". Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  5. ^ "Macarthur Chronicle - News Local Newspaper - Daily Telegraph". macarthur-chronicle-campbelltown.whereilive.com.au. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  6. ^ "Samoa name World Cup Squad". League Unlimited. 5 August 2008. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2008.
  7. ^ "Kiwis select Sonny Bill". Sky Sports. 8 August 2008. Retrieved 8 August 2008.
  8. ^ Ferguson, Shawn Dollin and Andrew. "Custom Match List - Rugby League Project". Rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  9. ^ "Season review: Parramatta Eels". www.nrl.com. 2 October 2012.
  10. ^ "BBC Sport - Wigan Warriors: Taulima Tautai to join from Wakefield in 2015". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  11. ^ "Warrington 6-12 Wigan: Super League Grand Final – as it happened!". Guardian. 8 October 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  12. ^ "Hull FC 18-14 Wigan recap as the Black and Whites claim back-to-back Challenge Cup triumphs". Mirror. 26 August 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  13. ^ "Super League Grand Final: Warrington Wolves 6-12 Wigan Warriors". BBC Sport. 8 October 2016.
  14. ^ Darbyshire, Drew (13 October 2018). "Wigan crowned 2018 Super League champions".
  15. ^ "Wigan Warriors: Taulima Tautai leaves after drink-driving conviction". BBC Sport. 25 June 2019.
  16. ^ "Mum stunned by Wigan Warriors star's generous gesture | Wigan Today". Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  17. ^ "Wigan prop Taulima Tautai turns attention from super league pitch to domestic violence". Archived from the original on 20 February 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  18. ^ Wigan Warriors Community Foundation 🍒⚪️ [@WiganWarriorsCF] (29 October 2018). "Please donate what you can to support T H E J E N N Y P R O J E C T https://t.co/PLdcZNdcZc… Taulima Tautai is shaving his head to help raise funds for this very special cause #inspiring SHAVE IT OFF Yes, I am shaving my head and donating my hair. https://t.co/PLdcZNdcZc… https://t.co/hJGEUNvTkb" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 10 September 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2023 – via Twitter.
  19. ^ "Departing Wigan Warriors star Taulima Tautai to retire from rugby league". www.wigantoday.net.
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