Tupou Sopoaga

Tupou Sopoaga

Sopoaga playing for the Sharks in 2013.
Personal information
Born	(1992-06-05) 5 June 1992 Wellington, New Zealand
Height	185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	100 kg (15 st 10 lb)
Playing information
Position	Second-row, Lock
Club
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
2013–14	Cronulla-Sutherland	16	0	0	0	0
2015–	Penrith Panthers	0	0	0	0	0
	Total	16	0	0	0	0
Representative
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
2013	Cook Islands	2	0	0	0	0
As of 12 November 2014
Source: [1]

Tupou Sopoaga (born 5 June 1992) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Penrith Panthers of the National Rugby League. Sopoaga primarily plays second-row and lock. Sopoaga is of Cook Islander and Samoan descent and has represented the a Cook Islands.

Early years

Born in Wellington, New Zealand, Sopoaga played his junior football for the Petone Panthers before being signed by the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. In 2010, Sopoaga played for the New Zealand Schoolboys rugby union team. Sopoaga played for the Bulldogs NYC team in 2011 and 2012. On 4 October 2012, Sopoaga signed a 1-year contract with the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks starting in 2013. On 13 October 2012, Sopoaga played for the Junior Kiwis.^[2]

Professional playing career

2013

In Round 26 of the 2013 NRL season, Sopoaga made his NRL debut for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks at second-row against the Canberra Raiders in the Sharks 38-18 win at Canberra Stadium.^[3] Sopoaga played a match for the Sharks in the 2013 NRL season. On 22 September 2013, Sopoaga was named at second-row in the 2013 New South Wales Cup Team of the Year.^[4] In October and November 2013, Sopoaga was selected to play for the Cook Islands in their 2013 World Cup campaign,^[5] playing in 2 matches. Sopoaga made his international debut against the United States in the 32-20 loss at The Memorial Stadium.^[6]

2014

In February 2014, Sopoaga was selected for the Sharks inaugural 2014 Auckland Nines squad.^[7] Sopoaga finished the Sharks 2014 season with him playing in 15 matches. On 11 November 2014, Sopoaga signed a 2-year contract with the Penrith Panthers starting in 2015.^[8]

2015

On 24 January 2015, John was named in the Panthers 2015 Auckland Nines squad.^[9]

Personal life

Sopoaga is the younger brother of Highlanders Super Rugby player Lima Sopoaga^[10] and cousin of former sharks teammate and fellow Cook Islands player Tinirau Arona.

References

External links

• 2013 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks profile