Brendon Ephia Tuuta (born 29 April 1965) is a New Zealand former

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 of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

(

Ngāti Mutunga Ngāti Mutunga is a Māori iwi (tribe) of New Zealand, whose original tribal lands were in north Taranaki. They migrated, first to Wellington (with Ngāti Toa and other Taranaki hapū), and then to the Chatham Islands (along with Ngāti Tama) ...

) and

Moriori The Moriori are the first settlers of the Chatham Islands ( in Moriori language, Moriori; in Māori language, Māori). Moriori are Polynesians who came from the New Zealand mainland around 1500 AD, which was close to the time of the ...

descent. Tuuta played a variety of positions including and . He was known as "the baby-faced assassin" and had a reputation as a brawler.

Background

He is related to Lewis Brown.

Early years

Originally from the

Chatham Islands The Chatham Islands ( ; Moriori language, Moriori: , 'Misty Sun'; ) are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about east of New Zealand's South Island, administered as part of New Zealand, and consisting of about 10 islands within an approxima ...

, Tuuta played much of his youth league for

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

. Tuuta withdrew from the New Zealand Māori squad for the 1986 Pacific Cup.John Coffey, Bernie Wood.
100 Years: Maori Rugby League, 1908–2008
'. Auckland, Huia Publishers, 2008. He was a

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

international between 1989 and 1995 and played at the

1995 Rugby League World Cup The 1995 Rugby League World Cup (also known as Halifax Centenary World Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the eleventh World Cup for mens national rugby league teams. It was held between 7–28 October and hosted by England and Wales and was wo ...

. During his début in 1989 he was involved in an incident where it was claimed he kneed

Paul Vautin Paul Vautin (born 21 July 1959), nicknamed Fatty, is a former Australian rugby commentator and former professional rugby league player, captain and coach. He has provided commentary for the Nine Network's coverage of rugby league since joining ...

. At the end of the 1989 season he toured England with the Kiwis and played in Featherstone for the first time.

Playing career

Tuuta first played professionally when he played for the

Western Suburbs Magpies The Western Suburbs Magpies (legal name: Western Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Ltd) is an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as the club is commonly ...

in the

New South Wales Rugby League premiership The New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the first rugby league football club competition established in Australia and contributor to today's National Rugby League. Run by the New South Wales Rugby League (initially named the New Sout ...

between 1989 and 1990. He then moved to

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Post Office Road and currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. Featherstone ...

in England, playing in the second division. In 1993 he was suspended for six matches for breaking Nigel Heslop's jaw with a punch. He played in the Rovers' 20–16 victory over

Workington Town Workington Town is a semi-professional rugby league club based in Workington, West Cumbria, England. The club plays home games at Derwent Park and competes in the RFL League One, League One, the third tier of British rugby league system, Briti ...

in the 1992–93 Division Two Premiership Final at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

on 19 May 1993. Tuuta was a

representative and famously returned to New Zealand for the 1993 provincial grand final where Canterbury upset

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, earning the man of the match award that day. During the 1995 Australian season, he returned to play for the

Western Reds The Western Reds were a rugby league football club based in Perth, Western Australia. Founded in 1992 as the Western Reds, they entered into the Australian Rugby League competition in 1995 before defecting to the rival Super League (Australia), ...

, before signing for the

Castleford Tigers The Castleford Tigers are a professional rugby league club in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England. They play their home games at Wheldon Road (currently known as the Mend-A-Hose Jungle for sponsorship reasons) and compete in the Super League, t ...

for the English 1995/96 season. Tuuta joined the

Warrington Wolves Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England. They play home games at the Halliwell Jones Stadium and compete in Super League, the top tier of British rugby league system, British rugby league. Warringto ...

for the 1998 season but struggled with knee problems. Despite deciding to retire after 1998 he reconsidered and returned to the Featherstone Rovers for one more season.

Honours

Tuuta is a Featherstone Rovers' Hall of Fame inductee.

References

External links

World Cup 1995 detailsProfile at thecastlefordtigers.co.uk

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tuuta, Brendon 1965 births Living people 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen Canterbury rugby league team players Castleford Tigers players Featherstone Rovers players Halswell Hornets players Hornby Panthers players Moriori people New Zealand Māori rugby league players New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league players Ngāti Mutunga people Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league locks Rugby league players from the Chatham Islands South Island rugby league team players Warrington Wolves players Western Reds players Western Suburbs Magpies players