Bucking the trend of All Blacks heading North post RWC, NZR today announced that 2 players would be remaining on NZ shores post RWC 2019.
Blues & All Black duo., Dalton Papalii and Patrick Tuipulotu comitted their immediate futures to the Super Rugby side and NZR.
21-year-old back-rower Papalii has signed on with the Blues for at 2 seasons, while Blues co-captain and second-rower Tuipulotu has committed for one additional season.
“It’s great news for the Blues and for us that both Paddy and Dalton have re-signed with New Zealand Rugby,” All Blacks Head Coach Steve Hansen said.
“Patrick has been in our environment for several years now and has all the natural attributes required to keep developing into a truly international lock. He has speed and agility for a big man and is strong in his core roles.
“Dalton has shown us all just what kind of impact he has on a game. He brings size to the loose forward role and also a huge work rate to his game, especially on defence and in the breakdown. He has a huge future in our game which is exciting and we congratulate him and Paddy on their commitment to New Zealand Rugby,”
Papalii, debuted for the Blues last season but has already become a key member of the team. He has picked up the Development Player of the Year on 2 occasions and was Rookie of the Year and Club Person of the Year in his debut season.
Papalii was the only uncapped player in the All Blacks squad on last year’s Northern Tour where he picked up 2 caps. Starting in the All Blacks 69-31 win over Japan and then off the bench against Italy in Rome.
“Dalton is a product of our system, part of our development programme and we earmarked him as a future Blues player from a young age,” said Blues general manager performance, Tony Hanks.
“He has played (and captained) our Under-18s and Under-20s, successfully transitioned to the Blues and earned selection to the All Blacks following an outstanding Mitre 10 Cup for Auckland.
“He is not only an outstanding prospect on the field, he is a natural leader off it. He is already developing into a superb professional and we are thrilled he will be with us for a further three years.”
Tuipulotu, 26, has
“Patrick is clearly an immense figure in the game and possesses tremendous speed and skill for such a big man. We think New Zealand is still to see the best of him,” said Hanks.
