The 22-year-old is coming off a breakout performance in the win over the Blues a fortnight ago – a coming of age display for a young man who, until then, had largely under-delivered on his huge potential.
A football player till his last year of primary school, Tupaea was then a star in rugby through Hamilton Boys’ High, captaining the New Zealand Secondary Schools team, then dazzling in his maiden provincial season with Waikato in 2018.