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Tupou Vaa'i

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Tupou Vaa'i
Full nameTupou Paea'i Okalani Vaa'i
Date of birth (2000-01-27) 27 January 2000 (age 24)
Place of birthAuckland, New Zealand
Height200 cm (6 ft 7 in)
Weight118 kg (260 lb; 18 st 8 lb)
SchoolWesley College
Rugby union career
Position(s) Lock, Flanker
Current team Taranaki, Chiefs
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2018– Taranaki 16 (20)
2020– Chiefs 58 (45)
Correct as of 5 November 2024
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2019 New Zealand U20 6 (10)
2020 North Island 1 (0)
2020– New Zealand 35 (15)
Correct as of 5 November 2024

Tupou Paea'i Okalani Vaa'i (born 27 January 2000) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays as a Lock for the Chiefs in Super Rugby and Taranaki in the Bunnings NPC.

Career

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Early career

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Vaa'i was born in New Zealand to a Tongan family.[1] In his youth career, he played for the Wesley College first XV and was Head Prefect, captaining the team in his last year of school. Vaa'i went on to play for the top representative team in secondary school, and was selected to play in the 2019 World Rugby Under 20 Championships for New Zealand.

Vaa'i debuted for Taranaki as an 18-year-old against Auckland, in 2018[2] His Chiefs debut came in 2020, when the team was short on locks, having lost Michael Allardice and Laghlan McWhannell to season-ending injuries. Although Vaa'i was not originally contracted to the team at the start of 2020, he was promoted to a starting role following an injury to Naitoa Ah Kuoi.[3] Vaa'i was one of the Chiefs' better performers in their winless Super Rugby Aotearoa season and was named in the North Island team, for New Zealand's 2020 North vs South rugby union match.[4]

In September 2020 Vaa'i was named in Ian Foster's first ever All Blacks squad.[5][6]

Vaa'i debuted for New Zealand on 11 October 2020, replacing Patrick Tuipulotu off the bench, in the 75th minute, in a 16-16 draw against Australia. Vaa'i became the first player born in the 21st century to represent New Zealand in international rugby.

The following week, with Sam Whitelock ruled out due to concussion symptoms, Vaa'i made his first start for New Zealand, with the All Blacks going on to beat Australia 27-7. Following Tuipulotu's illness ahead of Bledisloe IV a fortnight later, Vaa'i was restored to the matchday 23, accompanying debutants Will Jordan, Asafo Aumua, and Cullen Grace on the bench. He scored his debut test try shortly after coming on, in the 78th minute. Vaa'i ended the 2020 season having played four tests for his country.

2021

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Vaa'i became a regular starter for the Chiefs in 2021, finishing the season with a total of 19 Super Rugby caps. He played for the team in the Super Rugby Aotearoa final, which was lost to the Crusaders by 13-24.[7]

He did not feature in the 2021 mid-year tests due to injury, but played three tests for New Zealand during the 2021 Rugby Championship. Vaa'i was used as a replacement off the bench in wins over Argentina and Australia, before starting his first test of the year on 18 September. This was a 36-13 win against Argentina, where Vaa'i played all 80 minutes of the match and scored two tries.

Statistics

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Club Year Competition GP GS TRY CON PEN DGL PTS WL% Yellow card Red card
Taranaki 2018 Bunnings NPC
(incl. Ranfurly Shield) 		3 0 0 0 0 0 0 33.33 0 0
2019 6 5 1 0 0 0 5 50.00 0 0
2020† 3 3 3 0 0 0 15 66.67 0 0
2021† 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 100.00 0 0
Chiefs 2020 Super Rugby Pacific 7 5 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0 0
2021 12 12 2 0 0 0 10 66.67 1 0
2022 13 13 2 0 0 0 10 69.23 0 0
Career 46 40 8 0 0 0 40 54.35 1 0

Updated: 12 June 2022 Source: Tupou P O Vaa'i Rugby History

List of international test tries

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Try Date Venue Opponent Result Competition
1 6 November 2020 Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Australia Australia 22–24 (Lost) Australia Tour

Updated: 21 June 2021 Source: Tupou P O Vaa'i Statsguru

References

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  1. ^ "Tupou Vaa'i's family still can't believe he's an All Black a day on from his selection". 1 News. 7 September 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  2. ^ "Perofeta to return for Yarrows Taranaki Bulls".
  3. ^ "Unfortunately for the Chiefs the world's best lock has his feet up amidst injury crisis".
  4. ^ "Rugby: Squads revealed for North v South clash".
  5. ^ "From building fences to national call-up: Tupou Vaa'i becomes the first All Black born in the 2000s". 6 September 2020.
  6. ^ "The winners and losers from Ian Foster's first-ever All Blacks squad announcement".
  7. ^ "Super Rugby Aotearoa Final".
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