Wycliff Palu

Wycliff Palu (born 27 July 1982 in Sydney) is an Australian rugby union footballer of Tongan descent. He plays for the New South Wales Waratahs in the international Super Rugby competition. Also known as Cliffy Palu, he attended Balgowlah Boys High School.

Palu in 2011

A hard running backrow player Palu made his provincial debut in a match against a Samoan side in 2003 after which he had a stint at NRL side St. George Illawarra Dragons before returning to Rugby Union. He played for the New South Wales Waratahs in their first trial match of pre-season 2005, against the Crusaders, in which he was awarded the man-of-the-match award. After his good performances during the Waratahs' pre-season, he made his Super 12 debut in week one of the 2005 season against the Chiefs. He was then injured in the week six loss against the Crusaders which saw him out for a lot of the season.

Palu sustained a shoulder injury midway through the 2006 Super 14 season, as he came off the bench in a semi-final against the Hurricanes. Palu was then included in the Wallabies' 2006 mid-year squad.

Palu was named at number eight for the opening Tri-Nations match against New Zealand on 18 July 2009, after he recovered from a hand injury which forced him to miss all of Australia's matches earlier in the year.

Palu suffered a knee-ligament injury against the Crusaders in April 2010, then a hamstring injury during trials in early 2011. He spent 11 months in recovery, and was expected to return to the Waratahs for the teams's Round 5 match against the Cheetahs 18 March 2011.

In late 2009 during the drawn Test between Ireland and Australia, Palu was given a yellow card by the South African referee Jonathan Kaplan for allegedly making a shoulder charge on Rob Kearney, Ireland’s fullback. However, it's suggested Kearney in fact made the shoulder charge on Palu whilst carrying the ball.