Adam Tangata (born 17 March 1991) is a Cook Islands professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who plays as a for the

Halifax Panthers The Halifax Panthers are a professional rugby league club in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They play home games at The Shay and compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. Halifax Panthers have won the League Ch ...

in the

RFL Championship The Rugby Football League Championship, (known as the Betfred Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the second highest division of rugby league in British rugby league system, Britain (with one team in the league also being based in France) ...

and the

Cook Islands The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...

at international level. He has previously played for Halifax in two separate spells as well as

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. The club play their home fixtures at the DIY Kitchen Stadium, Belle Vue (Wakefield), Belle Vue and currently compete in the Super League, the top tier o ...

and the

Widnes Vikings The Widnes Vikings are an English rugby league club in Widnes, Cheshire, which competes in the RFL Championship, Betfred Championship. The club plays home matches at DCBL Stadium. Founded as Widnes Football Club, they are one of the original twe ...

. Tangata spent time during his second spell at 'Fax on loan at

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

in the

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

Background

Tangata was born in Raratonga,

. His surname ''Tangata'' translates to mean people from

Polynesian languages The Polynesian languages form a genealogical group of languages, itself part of the Oceanic branch of the Austronesian family. There are 38 Polynesian languages, representing 7 percent of the 522 Oceanic languages, and 3 percent of the Austr ...

Career

Tangata played for the

Mount Pritchard Mounties The Mounties Rugby League Football Club (sponsored by Mounties Group) is an Australian rugby league football club based in Mount Pritchard, New South Wales formed in 1927. They currently play in the Ron Massey Cup and Sydney Shield. Recent ...

in the

NSW Cup The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserve ...

and he also played for the

Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugb ...

Under 20s side in 2011. Tangata signed for English semi-professional club Halifax for the 2015 season, on a two-year contract. Tangata is known for his aggressive tackling and hit-ups, and has become a fans' favourite at Halifax. He has his own chant – "ooh aah Tangata".

Halifax

On 13 April 2021, it was reported that he had re-signed for Halifax in the

on a deal that would keep him at the club until 2022. On 25 August, Tangata signed a contract extension with Halifax keeping him at the club until the end of 2024.

International career

He represented his nation in the

2013 Rugby League World Cup The 2013 Rugby League World Cup was the fourteenth World Cup for men’s national rugby league teams. It took place between the 26 October and 30 November and was hosted by England and Wales (although some games were played in France and Ire ...

. Adam was named in the Cook Islands squad for the

2017 Rugby League World Cup qualifying The 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualifying process began on 9 May 2015 with the 2015 Rugby League European Championship C, 2015 European Championship C. In August 2014, it was announced that seven of the eight quarter-finalists at the 2013 Rugby ...

match against Tonga.

References

External links

Wakefield Trinity profileSL profileHalifax profileTangata back for 2020!
1991 births Living people Cook Island emigrants to Australia Cook Island rugby league players Cook Islands national rugby league team players Halifax Panthers players Mount Pritchard Mounties players Rugby league props Wakefield Trinity players Widnes Vikings players Cook Island expatriate rugby league players New Zealand expatriate rugby league players in Australia New Zealand expatriate rugby league players in England Cook Island expatriate sportspeople in Australia Cook Island expatriate sportspeople in England {{CookIslands-rugbyleague-bio-stub