| Full name | Te Rua Reihana Tipoki | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 11 August 1975 | ||
| Place of birth | Te Puia Springs, New Zealand | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Weight | 95 kg (14 st 13 lb) | ||
| Rugby union career | |||
| Playing career | |||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Provincial/State sides | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 2007-2009 | Munster | 29 | (15) |
| Super Rugby | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| Auckland Blues | |||
| National team(s) | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| New Zealand Māori | |||
Te Rua Reihana Tipoki (born 11 August 1975 in Te Puia Springs, New Zealand)[1] brought up in Te Araroa in Gisborne, is a rugby union player who has, uniquely, captained two provinces to Ranfurly Shield victories: Bay of Plenty in 2004, and North Harbour in 2006, and played for a wide variety of teams including Munster Rugby.
He currently plays for Ruatoria-based East Coast.
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In his early career he played for Auckland Blues in the Super 14, the Otago Highlanders, the New Zealand 7s, led both Bay of Plenty and North Harbour to Ranfurly Shield victories - and played in the New Zealand Maori team which defeated the British and Irish Lions team for the first time ever in the history of Maori rugby in 2005.[2]
With Munster, he fashioned one of the best centre partnerships in the Heineken Cup with Lifeimi Mafi,[3] playing with passion and flair, a strong tackle and a great handoff and step. He was part of the Munster team that won the Heineken Cup on May 24, 2008 beating Toulouse 16-13 in the final. In all he made 29 appearances (including 27 competitive & 10 Heineken Cup games) for Munster, scoring 3 tries.
On 24 April 2009 Tipoki announced that he would return to his native New Zealand at the end of the season due to a hamstring injury that had consistently hampered him: "It has been a deeply frustrating time for me as I would dearly love to get back to helping the boys achieve the goals that they'd set out at the start of the year. At the minute however, I am not up to the level of fitness required and would not like to do the jersey or the team an injustice by taking the field when I know I can't give my all. This time in Munster has been brilliant for me and my family and while there is only one place you can call home, we will leave Munster with some great memories and having made lifelong friends."
After a couple of years of recuperation in New Zealand, in 2011 Tipoki signed for the Ruatoria based team, East Coast Rugby Football Union.[4]