Antonio (Tony) Emil Tuimavave is a Samoan 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 played in the 1990s and 2000s, who was the

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

of the

Ponsonby Ponies The Ponsonby Ponies are a rugby league club based in Ponsonby, New Zealand. The club was founded in 1908 and was originally named Ponsonby United. The Ponies compete in the Auckland Rugby League competition and are the oldest rugby league club in ...

from 2010, primarily as a also as a . He was nicknamed The Chief because he is a chief back in his native Samoa.

Playing career

Until the formation of the

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 ...

, Tony remained largely unheard off outside of the Auckland Scene. He played for the

Mt Albert Lions The Mount Albert Lions are a rugby league club based in Mount Albert, New Zealand. The Lions home ground is at Fowlds Park. Their patron is the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark. In 2008 and 2009 Auckland Rugby League season, 2009 ...

and

Northcote Tigers The Northcote Tigers are a rugby league club based in Northcote, New Zealand. The club was founded in 1910 as the Northcote Warriors though they became known as the Northcote Ramblers shortly afterwards.John Haynes ''From All Blacks to All Go ...

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 an

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 ...

rep from 1988 to 1994 playing over 30 matches for the province. In 1994 he played for the Waitakere City Raiders in the Lion Red Cup, and captained the Western Samoa tour of New Zealand.''Lion Red Rugby League Annual 1994'',

New Zealand Rugby Football League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood '' ...

, 1994. p.50 He was in the inaugural Warriors side in 1995 and remained a fixture in the squad until his retirement in 2000. He was the last of the inaugural team to leave the club.

Representative career

Kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), an informal name for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible hairy fruit with many seeds * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of curren ...

in 1995, Tuimavave also represented

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 ...

in the

1990 Pacific Cup The 1990 Pacific Cup was the fifth edition of the Pacific Cup, a rugby league tournament held between Pacific teams. The tournament was hosted by Tonga and eventually won by Western Samoa, who defeated New Zealand Māori 26–18 in the final, a ...

, 1992 Pacific Cup, and at the 1995 World Cup.

Coaching career

In 2010, he was named the head coach of the

in the

competition.

Later years

After his retirement from rugby league he flirted with becoming a professional

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

, winning his only professional fight in 2001. He returned to play for the

in the

Bartercard Cup The Bartercard Cup (successor of the Lion Red Cup) was the top level rugby league club competition in New Zealand from 2000 until 2007. For the entire life of the tournament it was sponsored by Bartercard. The cup was administered by the New Ze ...

in 2004. He now runs a

jet ski A personal watercraft (PWC), also called Jet Ski or water scooter, is a primarily recreational watercraft that is designed to hold only a small number of occupants, who sit or stand on top of the craft, not within the craft as in a boat. P ...

rental business in

Apia Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō'') of Tuamasaga. The Apia Urban A ...

, and is involved in the grassroots of Samoan rugby league.

Family

The Tuimavave family has a large presence in Auckland rugby league. He is Uncle to current players Evarn Tuimavave (Newcastle Knights), Carlos Tuimavave (Warriors) and Antonio Winterstein (Cowboys)''Tuimavave signs to stay a Warrior until 2009'' 18 June 2006
Chanel Tuimavave played alongside Tony for the

in the

, Paddy Tuimavave played 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' ...

and

and Paki Tuimavave also represented Western Samoa.

References

External links

Profile at rugbyleague.co.nz

Boxing profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuimavave, Tony 1969 births Living people 20th-century Samoan sportsmen Junior Kiwis players Mount Albert Lions players New Zealand expatriate rugby league players in England New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand Warriors players Northcote Tigers players Ponsonby Ponies coaches Rugby league locks Rugby league players from Apia Rugby league props Samoa national rugby league team players Samoan chiefs Samoan emigrants to New Zealand Samoan expatriate rugby league players Samoan expatriate sportspeople in England Samoan rugby league coaches Samoan rugby league players Sheffield Eagles (1984) players Tony Waitakere rugby league team players