Timana Tahu

Timana Tahu

Tahu while playing for the Knights in 2012.
Personal information
Born	(1980-10-16) 16 October 1980 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Playing information
Height	185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	98 kg (15 st 6 lb)[1]
Rugby league
Position	Centre, Wing, Second-row
Club
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
1999–04	Newcastle Knights	97	82	2	0	332
2005–07	Parramatta Eels	46	20	0	0	80
2010	Parramatta Eels	17	5	0	0	20
2011	Penrith Panthers	7	3	0	0	12
2012–14	Newcastle Knights	29	11	0	0	44
	Total	196	121	2	0	488
Representative
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
2001–10	NSW Country	4	3	0	0	12
2002–10	New South Wales	12	8	0	0	32
2002–06	Australia	5	5	0	0	20
2010	New Zealand Māori	1	0	0	0	0
2013	Indigenous All Stars	1	0	0	0	0
Rugby union
Position	Centre
Club
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
2008–09	NSW Waratahs	20	3	0	0	15
2016	Denver Stampede	11	0	0	0	0
	Total	31	3	0	0	15
Representative
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
2008–09	Australia	4	0	0	0	0
2008	Australia A	5	4	0	0	20
Source: [2]

Timana James Aporo Tahu (born 16 October 1980) is an Australian professional rugby league and rugby union footballer. He currently plays for Denver Stampede in the US PRO Rugby competition.^[3] A dual-code international representative three-quarter back for Australia's Kangaroos and then the Wallabies, he could also play second-row and played for New South Wales in State of Origin. Tahu started his career in the National Rugby League for the Newcastle Knights, with whom he won the 2001 NRL Premiership before moving to the Parramatta Eels. He then played for the New South Wales Waratahs in the Super Rugby competition. Tahu returned to the NRL with the Eels and then the Penrith Panthers before finishing his NRL career where it started with the Newcastle Knights.

Background

Tahu was born in Melbourne of a New Zealand Māori father and an Australian Aboriginal mother,^[4] as a result he was eligible for both the New Zealand Kiwis and Australian Kangaroos.^[5] He grew up in St Kilda before moving with his mother to Bourke in western New South Wales at the age of 12. From there he went on to live in towns including Wilcannia, Grafton and Byron Bay.^[6]

Tahu and his partner Kasey have three children. They met while young; their oldest child was born when he was 18.^[6]

Rugby league career

Parramatta Eels (2005-07)

Tahu in 2005

In 2004, Tahu announced that he had signed a 3-year contract to join the Eels.

Tahu started the 2007 season slowly. Despite scoring a try in Round 2, he suffered yet another leg injury mid-season that kept him out of 9 games. He continued from this by scoring a further 5 tries for the season, including a double in the Eels record 68–22 win over the Brisbane Broncos in Round 25 in which Tahu scored his 100th career try.

On 20 March 2007, Tahu announced he would be switching codes to rugby union join the New South Wales Waratahs in Super Rugby from the 2008 season. Tahu's contract with Parramatta ended at the end of the 2007 NRL season after three seasons in the Eels. The contract with the Waratahs was expected to be a four-year deal.^[7]

Rugby union career

Waratahs (2008-09)

In 2007, Tahu shocked the NRL when he announced that he had decided to move to rugby union. His contract with the Eels was set to expire at the end of the year, thus the NSW Waratahs attempted to sign him.

On 19 December 2007, Tahu agreed to a four-year contract with Shute Shield club, West Harbour. He joined fellow League convert Lote Tuqiri at the club.

In Tahu's final game in the NRL, he was put on report for a head slam on Melbourne Storm player Israel Folau.^[8] He received a two-match suspension, and although his rugby league career was over this suspension still carried across into rugby union.^[9]

On 26 January 2008, Tahu played his first game of rugby union. The game was a trial match between the NSW Waratahs and the Queensland Reds, which the Waratahs won 26–10.

Tahu made his debut performance in the Super 14 competition in the Waratahs clash with the Wellington Hurricanes on 16 February 2008. Tahu impressed by setting up two tries for Lachlan Turner. Tahu suffered yet another hamstring injury during 2008. He was ruled out of the Waratahs clash with the Crusaders, but the injury was later declared a 6-week recovery period.

Tahu made his long-awaited return from injury in the Waratahs Round 13 match against the Stormers, coming off the bench. He had been declared available two weeks prior to returning, missing the first week due to coach Ewan McKenzie not wishing to rush him back unnecessarily, and failed to make the side at all in the following game. He did however return to the side towards the end of the season and participated in the Waratahs grand final loss to the Crusaders.

Tahu began the 2009 Super 14 season playing in the position of inside centre. However, unlike his success in this position for Australia A, he failed to have the same impact for the Waratahs. Despite scoring tries in rounds 2 and 4, Tahu played a lot of his games off the bench during this period, coming in at wing or outside centre.

Wallabies and Australia A

During the 2008 Pacific Nations Cup, Tahu repeatedly performed for Australia A, playing at both wing and inside centre. His performance against Tonga at North Sydney Oval, in front of new Wallabies coach Robbie Deans, in which he played at inside centre, caused him to declare that inside centre is his preferred position.^[10] Here he scored a try and made six assists, tearing the opposition defence apart. He also scored the winning try against the Samoans, with a long distance intercept effort. On 6 July Tahu played a pivotal role in the Australian A's final Pacific Nations Cup game against New Zealand Maori, scoring 2 tries.

On 7 July 2008, Tahu was named in the 30 man Wallabies squad for the Tri-Nations series.^[11]

On 26 July, Tahu made his first appearance as a substitute for the Wallabies against New Zealand in the Tri-Nations. Despite only coming on towards the end of the game, Tahu effectively made himself Australia's 46th Dual-International. Tahu earnt a further cap against South Africa in Johannesburg in a starting role only for the Wallabies to be defeated 53-8.^[12]

Return to rugby league (2010-2014)

On 22 July 2009, it was announced that Tahu would return to league and would rejoin his former club, Parramatta Eels on a three-year contract in 2010. He ended his career with league when in 2007, he signed a nearly $2 million, four-year contract with the ARU and NSW Waratahs.^[13]

In 2010, Tahu earned a recall to the New South Wales State of Origin team and was involved in a race-related incident with Andrew Johns. In New South Wales Blues training, Johns reportedly called Greg Inglis "a black cunt".^[14] Tahu withdrew in protest from the New South Wales Origin team.^[15][16] It is believed Johns made the racial slur at a team bonding session. Johns was reported as telling centre Beau Scott he needed to stop Greg Inglis, and made a racial reference to the Maroons Aboriginal star. Tahu's mother is Aboriginal.^[17]

Tahu ended his season by playing for the New Zealand Māori against England.^[18]

After the tumultuous 2010 season, Tahu requested an extended break from the Eels pre-season training, hoping to return in January 2011. New coach Stephen Kearney denied the request and Tahu was released from his contract.^[19] After a period where it seemed possible Tahu would not return to the NRL,^[20] Tahu was signed by the Penrith Panthers.^[21] Tahu played just 7 games for the Panthers in 2011 before a torn pectoral muscle ended his season. Only a week later it was announced Tahu would be returning to his original club, the Newcastle Knights on a 2-year contract starting from 2012.^[22]

On 6 September 2013, Tahu re-signed with the Knights on a 1-year contract.^[23]

Tahu's last game was in Round 26 of the 2014 NRL season, where he came off the bench into the centres for an injured Joseph Leilua. He scored two tries.^[24]

PRO Rugby (2016–)

It was announced in March 2016 that Tahu would play rugby union in the United States in the newly formed PRO Rugby competition.^[25] On 24 April 2016, he came off the bench and played a role in Denver's game in San Francisco only a few days after he had moved to the United States from Australia.^[26]

Achievements

• Scored the most tries in a season for Newcastle Knights for 3 consecutive years: scoring 20 tries in 26 games (2000), 18 in 25 games (2001), 21 in 21 games (2002)

See also

• List of players who have converted from one football code to another

References

External links

• 2014 Newcastle Knights profile