Billy Weepu
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | Wellington, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 130 kg (20 st 7 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Prop | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: RLP | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Billy Weepu is a former New Zealand rugby league player who played for the Manly Sea Eagles in the NRL.
He is the brother of rugby union player Piri Weepu.[1]
Playing career
Early years
Weepu started his career with the Wainuiomata Lions in the Wellington Rugby League competition.[2]
Manly Sea Eagles
He was then scouted by Manly and joined the club in 1994. He went on to play 13 first grade games for the club in 1995 and 1997 as well as becoming a regular in reserve grade.
He was regarded as one of the heaviest players to play in the Australian competition.[3]
Return to New Zealand
Weepu played for both Wellington and Taranaki in the 1999 National Provincial Competition, becoming the subject of a NZRL appeal.[4] Along with fellow Wellington prop, Tino Brown, Weepu was later ruled ineligible to play for the Taranaki Sharks.
With the start of the Bartercard Cup in 2000 Weepu was part of the Wainuiomata Lions side that participated in the first two seasons.
In 2002, with the demise of the Lions, he moved to the Central Falcons.[5]
Representative career
Weepu was selected for the Junior Kiwis in 1994.[6]
In 2000 Weepu represented New Zealand Māori.[7]
In 2015 Weepu played for the New Zealand Parliamentary rugby team that played in the United Kingdom for Parliamentary World Cup.
Later years
Weepu worked as a Camera operator for TV3's Campbell Live until 2015. He previously worked on 60 Minutes.[1]
References
- ^ a b Watch it and Weepu Sydney Morning Herald, 12 August 2005
- ^ "Laban rewarded for hard work". The Dominion Post. 8 September 2008. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
- ^ Sport's big show proves fat is phat The Daily Telegraph, 10 June 2009
- ^ Canterbury to protest Taranaki win Taranaki Daily News, 27 September 1999
- ^ Tornadoes' storming run The Evening Standard, 27 May 2002
- ^ Lion Red Rugby League Annual 1994, New Zealand Rugby Football League, 1994. p.154
- ^ John Coffey, Bernie Wood (2008). 100 years: Māori rugby league, 1908-2008. Huia Publishers. p. 313. ISBN 978-1-86969-331-2.
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- New Zealand rugby league players
- New Zealand Māori rugby league players
- New Zealand people of Niuean descent
- New Zealand Māori rugby league team players
- Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles players
- Manawatu rugby league team players
- Wellington rugby league team players
- Wainuiomata Lions players
- Taranaki rugby league team players
- Junior Kiwis players
- Living people