Quinn Tupaea: the New Zealand Schools captain who came back from Melbourne to Player of the Year

Quinn Tupaea captained New Zealand Schools, became an All Black at 22 and then, in Melbourne in September 2022, badly injured his knee at a ruck. It was almost three years before he played another Test. Since he came back in 2025 he has scored two tries in Perth, been named Super Rugby Pacific Player of the Year for 2026, and started every Test he played in 2026 at No 13. He starts there again against Scotland at Murrayfield this weekend.

A Hamilton boy

Quinn Puketahinga Claude Tupaea was born in Hamilton on 10 May 1999, and is of Waikato and Tainui descent. He grew up with two brothers, and the boys used to perform the haka in front of the television before All Blacks Tests. One of them, Mason Tupaea, is also a professional player, a prop in the Blues' squad for 2027. Their father wanted Quinn to be a Māori All Black. He has also had a fan club of sorts since his school days: an uncle's "Tupaea Fire" banner, first rolled out at his debut for the Chiefs under 20s against the Blues.

He started playing at Southwell School in Hamilton, in the school's 1st XV, and went on to Hamilton Boys' High School.

Boys' High and New Zealand Schools

In 2017, his last year at school, he captained the Hamilton Boys' High First XV. They shared the Super 8 title with Hastings Boys' High, won the Chiefs region play-offs, and beat Southland Boys' High 49-0 in the national Top 4 semi-final. Tupaea scored in that semi-final but hurt his shoulder doing it and missed the final.

That year he was also named captain of New Zealand Schools, the first Hamilton Boys' High player to hold the role, for a tour to Sydney against Fiji Schools, the Australian Barbarians and Australian Schools.

Waikato at 19

His club is Hamilton High School Old Boys. In May 2018 Waikato signed him for the Mitre 10 Cup at 19, and he made his debut at centre in the season opener against Manawatu in Palmerston North. He scored seven tries in 12 games that season, including doubles against Bay of Plenty and Northland, was part of the team that won the Ranfurly Shield from Taranaki, and helped Waikato beat Otago to win the Championship and promotion. Waikato Rugby named him its Emerging Player of the Year. That year he was also called up late as injury cover for the New Zealand Under 20 side at the World Championship in France, though he did not play.

It was not enough for a full Chiefs contract in 2019, as he was too young for the dispensation he needed, so he trained with the Chiefs on an interim deal and played for New Zealand Under 20. He played at the World Rugby Under 20 Championship in Argentina that June, and seven games in all for the Under 20s, scoring 20 points.

The Chiefs and the Māori All Blacks

The Chiefs named him in their squad for 2020, aged 20. He made an impression against the Blues in the opening game and was named the Chiefs' rookie of the year. Later that year he made his debut for the Māori All Blacks, against Moana Pasifika in Hamilton.

An All Black at 22

In June 2021 he was in camp with the Māori All Blacks in Wellington when the All Blacks squad was read out, and he was one of four new names. "I sort of went blank for a second," he told the Waikato Herald.

He made his Test debut on 3 July 2021, starting at second five against Tonga at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland, a 102-0 win. He played seven Tests that year, starting against Argentina in Brisbane, Italy in Rome and France in Paris, and scored his first Test try in the 104-14 win over the United States in Washington. In July 2022 he started the first two Tests of the series against Ireland and scored in the 42-19 win at Eden Park, then came off the bench in each of the next five Tests.

Melbourne

The fifth of those was the Bledisloe Cup Test in Melbourne on 15 September 2022, won 39-37. Tupaea was at a ruck when the Wallabies lock Darcy Swain cleaned him out, forcing his leg inward at the knee. Swain was yellow-carded and later suspended for six weeks; the judiciary found the act was not intentional but was highly reckless. Beauden Barrett said Tupaea had been "a sitting duck".

The first estimate was two to three months out. Then further scans showed more extensive damage to the anterior cruciate ligament as well as the medial ligament, and he needed surgery. He was ruled out for nine months, including the whole of the 2023 Super Rugby season.

He played again in July 2023, 10 months after the injury, for 40 minutes for Waikato against Taranaki in a pre-season match in Te Awamutu. "Once I got out there and had my first carry and tackle, it came back pretty naturally," he told RNZ, adding that he had never been in a rush to get back by a certain date.

The long way back

There were no Tests in 2023 or 2024. He was back with the Chiefs, came off the bench in the 2024 Super Rugby final at Eden Park, lost 41-10 to the Blues, and played twice for the All Blacks XV in 2024.

The recall came in 2025, after he had started the Super Rugby final for the Chiefs in Christchurch in June, lost 16-12 to the Crusaders. On 5 July in Dunedin he came off the bench against France, his first Test in almost three years, and two weeks later he started the third Test in Hamilton, a 29-19 win. He scored off the bench in the 24-17 win over South Africa at Eden Park, and on 4 October in Perth, starting at centre, he scored two tries and set up two more in a 28-14 win over Australia that the NZ Rugby Museum highlights as a standout game. On the northern tour he started three of the four Tests: against Ireland in Chicago, Scotland at Murrayfield and England at Twickenham.

Player of the Year

In 2026 he won Super Rugby's top individual award. He and the Highlanders' Timoci Tavatavanawai finished level on 43 votes for Player of the Year, and Tupaea won the award on the tiebreaker, having been given the full three votes in more matches. He was also named in the Super Rugby Pacific Team of the Year. The competition's chief executive, Jack Mesley, called him "a most deserving winner". The Chiefs beat the Crusaders in the semi-final but lost the final 60-5 to the Hurricanes in Wellington, with Tupaea at second five.

The No 13 jersey

Under Dave Rennie he has played every Test at centre. He started at No 13 in the 34-32 win over France in Christchurch and the 40-21 win over Ireland at Eden Park, then in all three Tests in South Africa, including the 33-16 win in Johannesburg. In the third Test, at FNB Stadium in Soweto, he left the field early in the second half with a knee injury and was sent home before the fourth Test in Baltimore.

He was back for the Bledisloe Cup, starting the 50-19 win at Eden Park and the second Test in Sydney, where he was forced off in the second minute after his head hit the ground hard in a tackle, and failed a head injury assessment. The All Blacks listed him as returning from injury when they named their northern tour squad, and Rennie has picked him at centre for Scotland, outside Jordie Barrett.

Style and standing

The NZ Rugby Museum describes him as a powerful runner with skilful hands, and allblacks.com, announcing his Player of the Year award, pointed to his ball-carrying, his defence and his leadership in the midfield. He has played on both sides of the midfield for the All Blacks: of his 31 Tests, 10 have been starts at second five and nine at centre, and 12 have come off the bench. He has scored five Test tries.

Where he is now

Tupaea, 27, is on the northern tour with the All Blacks. He has played 79 games for the Chiefs and is in their squad for 2027.

Career at a glance

Test figures are from RUGBE's match-by-match All Blacks data to 17 October 2026. The Chiefs games figure is from the Chiefs' 2027 squad release; Waikato, Chiefs points, Under 20, Māori All Blacks and All Blacks XV figures are from Wikipedia, updated August and October 2026.