Joseph Ropati is a New Zealand former 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 represented

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 ...

in thirteen test matches, including in games that counted towards the 1988 World Cup. Ropati is part of a large rugby league family that includes internationals Iva,

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

Tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...

and

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

international

Romi Romi is a given name and may refer to: *Romi Dames (born 1979), Japanese-American actress *Romi Garduce (born 1969), Filipino mountain climber and IT Professional in Procter and Gamble Philippines *Romi Goldmuntz (1882–1960), Belgian businessman ...

. Joe, Tea and Iva are the only set of three brothers to play test matches for the Kiwis.

Playing career

Ropati began his career playing in the

Auckland Rugby League The Auckland Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. Founded in 1909, the ARL has played a pivotal role in the development and promotion of rugby league in Auckland and beyond. ...

competition for the

Otahuhu Leopards The Otahuhu Leopards are a rugby league club based in Ōtāhuhu, Auckland. Founded in 1911 Auckland Rugby League season, 1911, the club has produced 49 New Zealand national rugby league team players. The club competes in the Fox Memorial compet ...

. Between 1982 and 1985 Ropati represented

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 ...

and also represented New Zealand Māori. In 1983 Ropati won the ARL's award for the most improved back and in 1985 he won the Tetley Trophy as the leading try scorer. He toured the United Kingdom in 1983 with the New Zealand Māori side. Ropati played in thirteen test matches for the

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team () has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the Kiwi (bird), native bird of that name. The team' ...

between 1983 and 1986. In 1986 Ropati moved to England, joining

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

. He stayed with Warrington for four seasons. Ropati played at in Warrington's 4–18 defeat by

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

in the

1986–87 John Player Special Trophy This was the sixteenth season of the rugby league League Cup, again known as the John Player Special Trophy for sponsorship purposes. Wigan won the trophy, beating Warrington 18–4 in the final. The match was played at Burnden Park, Bolton, Gre ...

Final during the 1986–87 season at

Burnden Park Burnden Park was the home of England, English association football, football club Bolton Wanderers F.C., Bolton Wanderers, who played home games there between 1895 and 1997. As well as hosting the 1901 FA Cup final replay, in 1946 it was the sc ...

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

on Saturday 10 January 1987. Ropati played at and scored a try in Warrington's 24–16 victory over

Oldham Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk, Irk and River Medlock, Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative cent ...

in the

1989 Lancashire Cup 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

Final during the 1989–90 season at

Knowsley Road Knowsley Road is a former football stadium in Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside. It was the home ground of St. Helens from 1890 until its closure in 2010. St Helens Town FC played their home fixtures at Knowsley Road from 2002 until 2010. For ...

, St. Helens on Saturday 14 October 1989. Ropati also played for the

Manly Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL). The Manly club debuted in the 1947 New South Wales Rugby Football League seaso ...

for two seasons, playing in 21 first grade matches.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ropati, Joe Living people 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen Auckland rugby league team players Mangere East Hawks players Manly Warringah Sea Eagles players New Zealand Māori rugby league team players New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league players Otahuhu Leopards players People educated at Otahuhu College Joe Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Auckland Rugby league wingers Warrington Wolves players Year of birth missing (living people)