Sam Tuitupou Rugby player

Sam Tuitupou (born 1 February 1982 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a New Zealand international rugby union player who plays for Sale in the English Aviva Premiership. His position is Inside Centre.Tuitupou won world titles as captain for New Zealand at Under-19 and Under-21 level, during his junior career. In his senior career he achieved two Air New Zealand Cup titles, with Auckland and in the Super 14 championship with the Blues. Tuitupou also won acclaim on the international stage with his first All Blacks call-up for the clash with England at Dunedin in 2004. He played for the All Blacks between 2004 and 2006, earning nine caps.In 2007 he signed a contract with Worcester Warriors, and left New Zealand rugby to join his new team after the completion of the 2007 Air New Zealand Cup. His contract with Worcester kept him at Sixways until June 2010.Tuitopou moved to Munster for the 2010/2011 season, replacing Jean de Villiers as Munster's inside centre. Shortly after gaining his first team place he was banned for 3 weeks after a spear tackle on Paul Hodgson during Munster's Heineken Cup pool game against London Irish. In his short time at Munster, he became a fan favourite, being awarded the nickname "Hacksaw Sam" by the Munster supporters. On 5 April 2011, Munster rugby announced that he would be leaving Munster at the end of the current season. On 11 April 2011, Sale Sharks announced that Tuitupou had signed for 2 years from the 2011–12 English Premiership season.