Tea Faa'tea Ropati (born 7 September 1964) is a 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 ...

and

Western Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabit ...

Background

Ropati was born in

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 ...

, New Zealand. Ropati is a member of the large Ropati rugby league family that includes fellow league players Joe Ropati, John Ropati, Iva Ropati, union player

Romi Ropati Romi Ropati (born 20 June 1976 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a retired rugby union player best known for his time with the Highlanders Super Rugby franchise. Although born in New Zealand, he represented Samoa internationally and was a member of ...

, and league commentator Peter Ropati.

Early years

Ropati played for both the

Mangere East Hawks The Mangere East Hawks are a rugby league club based in Māngere, New Zealand. The Hawks compete in Auckland Rugby League's Fox Memorial competition. History The club was formed in 1963, the first fourteen junior teams took the field in 1964. ...

and

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 ...

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. He was a Junior Kiwi in 1983. During the 1987 season Ropati played for

alongside three of his brothers; John, Joe and Peter.Coffey and Wood ''The Kiwis: 100 Years of International Rugby League'' This feat was bettered in the 1991 season when all four of them, plus brother Iva, twice lined up for Mangere East in the

competition.

Playing career

Ropati started his professional career with the

Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league team based in Newcastle, New South Wales that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, the Knights joined the top-tier competition in New ...

in 1988 before moving to England. Playing for St. Helens he made a name for himself as a centre/five eighth who kicked goals. He also won the 1992/3 British First Division player of the year award. During the 1991–92 season he played in St. Helens' 24–14 victory over

Rochdale Hornets The Rochdale Hornets are a professional rugby league club from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, competing in the League 1, the third tier of European rugby league. The Rochdale Hornets are one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs tha ...

in the

1991 Lancashire Cup It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

Final at

Wilderspool Stadium Wilderspool Stadium was a rugby league stadium in Warrington, England. The ground was Warrington RLFC's old ground before moving to the Halliwell Jones Stadium. History In 1898, Warrington RLFC moved to the Wilderspool Stadium. A 10-year l ...

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 ...

, on 20 October 1991. During the 1992–93 season he played at in the 4–5 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

1992 Lancashire Cup Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno D ...

Final 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 18 October 1992. In 1995 he returned home to join the new

Auckland Warriors The Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as the Aucklan ...

in the first Australian Rugby League premiership. He was the Warriors' player of the year in 1995. He stayed with the Warriors for four seasons before retiring after the 1998 season. Ropati represented 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 1996 and 1997 and also played for

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 ...

Later years

Ropati participated in the charity boxing event Fight for Life on several occasions during the early 2000s. In 2010 Ropati was the assistant coach for the

in the

competition.

Rape trial

On 21 January 2008 Ropati began a trial in Auckland after being accused of rape and unlawful sexual connection, to which he pleaded not guilty. The woman stated she awoke in a car near Victoria Park. "I remember coming to. I remember an angry face over me. It was an angry, twisted face. I remember being in pain." Ropati was married at the time, and although he admitted the sexual connection he stated that it was consensual. On 31 January 2008 a jury found him not guilty on all six charges. Multiple rugby league personalities defended the character of Ropati in court including the ''Mad Butcher'' Peter Leitch.

References

External links

Biography at Saints Heritage Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ropati, Team 1964 births Living people 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen Auckland rugby league team players Junior Kiwis players Mangere East Hawks players New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent New Zealand rugby league coaches New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand Warriors players Newcastle Knights players Otahuhu Leopards players People educated at Otahuhu College

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 ...

Rugby league centres Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league players from Auckland Samoa national rugby league team players St Helens R.F.C. players