The Chiefs' new midfield wrecking ball that could take them to the next level
When Quinn Tupaea debuted for Waikato during the 2018 season, it was hard not to be impressed.
The former Hamilton Boys’ High Student dotted down for seven tries throughout Waikato’s campaign and played a major role in their Championship run.
Come the announcement of the 2019 Super Rugby squads, Tupaea’s name was one of the biggest omissions – but Tupaea himself wasn’t concerned.
It would have been entirely reasonable for the then-19-year-old to be frustrated with a lack of selection, given his exceptional form in the Mitre 10 Cup, but there was still plenty to look forward to.
“I didn’t read much into it, but talking to my agent and talking to my family, it was a good idea just to be patient,” Tupaea told RugbyPass.
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“The Chiefs offered me a contract for the season after (2020), so I was pretty happy with that. I had something locked up.”
It also meant the midfielder wasn’t playing for a contract during last year’s Mitre 10 Cup season.
“No one really knew about it – just me and my family – but that took a lot of pressure off me.”
2019 wasn’t quite as successful for Waikato, with the side struggling after being promoted into the Premiership division of the competition. Tupaea managed another seven tries to his name, however, and will enter his first season of Super Rugby in solid form.
Tupaea’s 14 tries over two seasons showcased his wide-ranging skills: pace, power, hunger.
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Despite the young midfielder’s obvious potential, it won’t be an easy feat squeezing his way into the Chiefs midfield.
Last year, Anton Lienert-Brown, Tumua Manu, Alex Nankivell and Orbyn Leger all started matches in the centres. Bailyn Sullivan and Sean Wainui, who were both employed mainly in the outside backs, are both capable in the midfield too.
That means Tupaea is fighting with six other players for game time.
Adding to the struggle is the general positional flexibility of the players he’s competing with.
“All of our midfielders can pretty much cover both positions,” said Tupaea.
In eight years of @SuperRugby with the Chiefs, Ian Foster failed to win any silverware. That on its own is a terrible metric of how Foster will perform as @AllBlacks coach, however, writes @TomVinicombe.https://t.co/ihbMZoELWX#SuperRugby @ChiefsRugby
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 12, 2019
“I’ll pretty much just slot in wherever I can. If I get the chance to play in the midfield, that’d be awesome. Midfield is my position, but I can cover wing if I have to.”
Like his fellow centres, Tupaea isn’t bothered if he starts at 12 or 13.
“I played 12 during school so it’s a familiar position for me. At Waikato we have (centurion) Dwayne Sweeney, he was pretty good at 12 so 13 just became my position.”
At just under 100kg and a little over 6 feet tall, Tupaea has plenty of bulk to his frame and could form a respectable combination with All Black Lienert-Brown, who was one of New Zealand’s and the Chiefs’ best performers throughout the 2019 season.
Tupaea has yet to partner up with Lienert-Brown in a match, with the All Black absent from the Waikato side for the past two years due to international commitments.
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In the one pre-season game Tupaea played for the Chiefs in 2019, under an interim training contract, Lienert-Brown was also unavailable due to the mandatory stand-down for national representatives.
It will be a similar story for the 2020 season, with Lienert-Brown likely to accrue fewer minutes than some of his teammates.
All Blacks will be restricted to 40 minutes in their first game of the season, then 60 minutes and 80 minutes by their third match. They will also have to sit out two further fixtures.
Lienert-Brown’s absence will open the door somewhat for Tupaea – but that still leaves the many other competitors.
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Manu was a dependable 12 for the Chiefs in his debut season last year while Nankivell has quietly stepped up game after game.
It wouldn’t be a major surprise if new coach Warren Gatland partnered those two up early in the season.
Gatland’s addition will have a major impact on the Chiefs’ season, with the former Wales and Waikato coach already making his presence known.
“Warren’s been awesome,” said Tupaea. “Our trainings are a lot shorter, so we’re training for about fifty minutes to an hour max.
A Super Rugby rookie has been suspended from rugby after he was found guilty of serious misconduct in a New Zealand Rugby misconduct hearing.https://t.co/6iGfVfkHkD
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 23, 2019
“Everything’s a lot more intense – running a lot, doing a lot of contact because our first pre-season game is coming up pretty soon.
“So, we’re just getting some exposure to contact and getting a good fitness level under our belt early so we can play some expansive rugby during the season.”
The Chiefs’ attack hummed along last year but the defence went through a number of hiccups. Assistant coach Tabai Matson will again take charge of the defence.
“Warren does have a bit to say about it but Tabs is running our defence. It’s sort of similar to last year: line speed is key.”
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What then are Tupaea’s goals heading into his first year as a full-time rugby professional?
“I think every young New Zealander who plays rugby has the goal to be an All Black.
“But I also always wanted to play for Waikato and the Chiefs. I’ve got one of those goals ticked off – so I’m hopefully looking to debut for the Chiefs.
“I just want to learn off guys that we have here already. But hopefully, if I get the opportunity to debut, that’d be awesome.”
WATCH: Despite a change in head coach, assistant Tabai Matson is back with the Chiefs for the 2020 season.
Comments on RugbyPass
Beautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to comments