Clinton Toopi
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Full name | Clinton James Te-Whata Toopi[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Stratford, New Zealand | 29 February 1980||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Height | 185 cm (6 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 100 kg (15 st 10 lb) [2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Position | Centre | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Clinton James Te-Whata Toopi (born 29 February 1980) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. A New Zealand international representative centre, he played his club football in the National Rugby League for the New Zealand Warriors and the Gold Coast Titans, and in the Super League for the Leeds Rhinos. Clinton began coaching the Helensvale Hornets in 2021 and guided them to victory in the 2022 Gold Coast A Grade Competition.
Rugby league career
Toopi was born in
In 2000 Toopi was part of the Aotearoa Maori side that played at the World Cup.
Toopi represented New Zealand on twelve occasions between 2001 and 2005. Toopi played for the Kiwis 14 times. He scored three tries in one match against Australia in the 2005 Tri Nations.
On 31 May 2006 Leeds Rhinos announced the capture of Toopi for the 2007 season as a replacement for Chev Walker. On 17 July he was granted an early release from the New Zealand Warriors so he could join the Rhinos for the rest of the season, this was granted the day before the deadline to register players in Super League. He made his début on 4 August 2006 against Hull FC.[6]
Rugby union career
On 23 August 2008 Leeds released Toopi, due to a knee reconstruction that would keep him out of action for 9 months. He attracted interest from the Japanese rugby union club
Toopi instead returned to New Zealand and switched to
Return to league
During the 2010 pre-season Toopi trialed with the Gold Coast Titans.[10] He did enough to impress management and earn a one-year contract.[11] This was later extended for the 2011 season. He retired at the end of 2011.[12]
Toopi again played for the New Zealand Māori in 2010, captaining the side against England.[13]
Match Fit
In 2023, Toopi participated in season 3 of Match Fit, where former rugby players return to play against the Australian counterparts. He joined in the first season that featured former rugby league stars.[14] On episode 3, he revealed he currently resides in Gold Coast, Australia. Throughout the first third of the 15-week program, his heart rate kept topping out even though he feels no ill effects, which suggest he has lower than expected aerobic endurance, he thought it was due to jet lag.[15]
References
- ^ TOOPI, CLINTON JAMES TE-WHATA 2001 - 2007 - KIWI #688 Archived 2 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine nzleague.co.nz
- ^ "Clinton toopi - Jetstar Gold Coast Titans". Archived from the original on 4 April 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
- ^ loverugbyleague
- ^ "Clinton Toopi - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. 29 February 1980. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
- ISBN 978-1-86969-366-4, p.323.
- ^ "Warriors Website - News". Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 18 July 2006.
- ^ Lawton, Aaron (5 April 2009). "Japanese scouts eye Toopi". Stuff.co.nz.
- ^ "Former Manly mayor calls it a day". Goldcoast.com.au. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
- ^ Recycled Toopi into mix for Steamers Rotorua Daily Post, 18 June 2009
- ^ "Elgey still preferred five-eighth". Goldcoast.com.au. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
- ^ Toopi signs NRL deal with Titans NRL.com, 5 March 2010
- ^ Clinton Toopi set to retire after fainting in Gold Coast Titans game NRL game against Melbourne Storm Couriermail.com, 15 August 2011
- ^ Maori draw with England New Zealand Herald, 16 October 2010
- ^ "Match Fit Season 3 Ep 1 | SPORT | ThreeNow". www.threenow.co.nz. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
- ^ "Match Fit Season 3 Ep 3 | SPORT | ThreeNow". www.threenow.co.nz. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
External links
- (archived by web.archive.org) Profile at leedsrugby