Charles Piutau
Quick Facts
Biography
Salesi Tu'ipulotu "Charles" Piutau (born 31 October 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union player. He plays in the fullback (and occasionally wing) position for Irish club Ulster in the Pro12, and formerly for New Zealand's national team the All Blacks.
Early life
In 2010, Piutau represented Tonga at the IRB Junior World Championship in Argentina. Piutau was the top try scorer for the New Zealand Under-20s in their 2011 World Championship winning campaign.
Charles plays club rugby for Pakuranga United Rugby Club. He is the younger brother of Bristol Rugby centre Siale Piutau.
Club career
He made his debut for Auckland in 2010, his first year out of high school, and was named Auckland Under 20 player of the year.
He was brought into the Blues squad to cover injuries at the tail end of the 2012 Super Rugby season and proved his skills with two 'man of the match' appearances.
On 1 April 2015, it was announced Piutau would join Irish club Ulster from the start of the 2016–17 season. Before joining Ulster, Piutau signs for English club Wasps in the Aviva Premiership during the 2015-16 season. During his season at Wasps, Charles had a strong impact. Charles scored notable try in the 80th minute against Exeter Chiefs in the European Rugby Champions Cup quarter-final to help Wasps reach the semi-final. Piutau was nominated for the Aviva Premiership Player of the Season and was named in the Team of the Season.
International career
Piutau joined the All Blacks training squad during the 2013 Super Rugby season. On 22 June, he made his Test debut against France in New Plymouth.
Test Match Record
Against | Pld | W | D | L | Tri | Con | Pen | DG | Pts | %Won |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
France | ||||||||||
Australia | ||||||||||
Argentina | ||||||||||
South Africa | ||||||||||
Japan | ||||||||||
England | ||||||||||
United States | ||||||||||
Samoa | ||||||||||
Total | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
Pld = Games Played, W = Games Won, D = Games Drawn, L = Games Lost, Tri = Tries Scored, Con = Conversions, Pen = Penalties, DG = Drop Goals, Pts = Points Scored