Paul Tito
| Date of birth | 9 June 1978 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Taumarunui, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 110 kg (240 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | New Plymouth Boys' High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Paul Tito (born 9 June 1978) is a retired New Zealand rugby union player. He played in the lock position.
Playing career
[edit]Tito attended New Plymouth Boys' High School and represented New Zealand at U19 level in 1997, U21level from 1998–1999, and the New Zealand Māori in 2000–2001 and 2003. He played for the Waikato Chiefs and Hurricanes in Super Rugby, and played for Taranaki in the Air New Zealand Cup. He played 100 games for the province.[1]
Tito, who was out of contract at the end of the 2007 Super 14 season, bolstered the Cardiff Blues squad following that year's World Cup. On arrival in the Welsh capital he was given the job of turning the Blues failing line out around which he did with ease. He was appointed captain the following season replacing Xavier Rush who had stood down from the role. In his first season as captain he steered the region to the EDF Energy Cup Final, beating Gloucester Rugby by 50–12 on 18 April 2009 and he won the Man of the Match award for his efforts.[2]
After a season full with injuries, Tito decided to retire at the end of the 2011/12 season.[3]
Coaching career
[edit]Tito moved into coaching and has worked with:
- the Taranaki Bulls
- Pau in France[4]
- the Western Force[5][6]
- the Wellington Lions.
He was in charge of the forwards for the Georgia national rugby union team, under head coach Levan Maisashvili, in 2022 when they beat Wales.
In December 2022 he replaced Ben Afeaki in the Auckland Blues coaching group as an assistant under Leon MacDonald.[7] In 2024 Tito was appointed Head Coach for the New Zealand schools side.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ "Taranaki Rugby". www.trfu.co.nz. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
- ^ ""Tito to Join Cardiff Blues"".
- ^ "Danger of ignoring hard knocks of the game". NZ Herald. 10 April 2024. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ "Stuff". www.stuff.co.nz.
- ^ "Stuff". www.stuff.co.nz.
- ^ McConnell, Lynn (10 May 2022). "Highlanders back at home, happy with overseas tour". Archived from the original on 12 June 2022.
- ^ Hinton, Marc (6 December 2022). "From Georgia with love: Paul Tito completes Blues Super Rugby Pacific coaching group". www.stuff.co.nz.
- ^ "TITO TAKES REINS OF RUGBY'S FUTURE STARS". Blues Rugby. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
External links
[edit]- Cardiff profile
- Paul Tito at ESPNscrum
 | This biographical article relating to New Zealand rugby union, about a person born in the 1970s, is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1978 births
- Cardiff Rugby players
- People educated at New Plymouth Boys' High School
- Living people
- New Zealand rugby union players
- Rugby union locks
- Barbarian F.C. players
- Māori All Blacks players
- Taranaki rugby union players
- Hurricanes (rugby union) players
- New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Wales
- Rugby union players from Manawatū-Whanganui
- Chiefs (Super Rugby) players
- New Zealand rugby union biography, 1970s birth stubs