Tongan Thor to debut for Qld Reds Super Rugby [1]
Friday, July 1, 2016 - 19:09. Updated on Sunday, July 17, 2016 - 20:31.
Taniela Tupou, widely known as the Tongan Thor, will make his run on debut tonight with the Queensland Reds.
The 20-year-old, 135kg prop spent 2015 playing for Brisbane rugby club, Brothers, in Queensland Premier Rugby and also for Queensland Country in the National Rugby Championship.
Tupou terrorises defences with his ability to bounce off tacklers and storm through defence lines and even has a bit of pace.
He turned heads when he first emerged in Youtube videos in 2014 due to his sensational rugby playing skills, battering the opposition as a schoolboy in Auckland, earning him his nickname. The video went viral, capturing the attention of the rugby world.
Tupou was born and raised in Tonga but moved to Auckland, New Zealand, after gaining a scholarship with Sacred Heart College in 2011.
Although he went to school in New Zealand, he grew up wanting to play for the Wallabies and signed a two-year deal with the Reds in 2014, after graduating from high school, to join the side for pre-season training.
He has since signed a contract extension with the Reds, keeping him there until the end of 2018.