No resting up for Ories loose forward Luke Tau'alupe

"If you've got nothing beyond talent, then you have nothing at all," is an adage that drives Luke Tau'alupe. The Oriental Rongotai No.8 is one of the most promising loose forwards in Wellington, but it hasn't been an easy ascent to that position.

August 2011, the sun shines brightly at Wellington College. The atmosphere on Number One has reached fever pitch. It's the final of the annual quadrangular tourney - New Zealand's oldest rugby tournament - and Nelson College are a formidable opponent.

The visitors have dominated much of the match, but Wellington clings to an 11-10 lead. Tau'alupe, then Year 11, is a big reason why Wellington has the advantage against the run of play. He has preformed imperiously. Tau'alupe recalls the final stages of match.

"That game was my favourite moment at school. It was real tough, just a great game of rugby. Our fullback Andrew Quinlivan got the ball in the 22 and ran all the way to the opposite corner for a try. It's still the greatest try I have ever seen."

Wellington won 18-10. Tau'alupe, a late comer to rugby, had high hopes of pushing for his first representative selection the following season. He earned an early season trial for the Wellington Under-18's where disaster struck.

"I was tackled at practice and tore the ACL in my knee. I felt it straight away and had to be carried from the field. My mate Elijah Williams-Stewart made the tackle and he felt real bad, but it wasn't his fault," Tau'alupe reflects.

Tau'alupe was consigned to the sidelines for 18 months. Naturally he found it difficult watching his mates play rugby without him, especially in 2013 when Wellington College won the Premier One Championship and attended the National Top Four in Rotorua.

However the guidance of physiotherapist Emma Lattey and close mate Nelson Asofa-Solomona (Melbourne Storm) ensured Tau'alupe recovered strongly and learned some valuable lessons.

"The most valuable thing I learned when I was injured for 18 months was how to look after my body outside of rugby. I trained hard and properly. Nelson is a beast in the gym and really pushed me. Emma was great. She really took care of me."

Tau'alupe came back with vengeance. He was a member of the Wellington Under-19 team that won the first National Under-19 championships in Taupo, but he wasn't entirely satisfied at Old Boys University.

"I enjoyed my time at OBU, but my uncle Roy Kinikinilau was at Ories. My family means a lot to me and Roy has been a great mentor so I decided to leave OBU and go to Ories to be closer to my family and friends," Tau'alupe says.

Tau'alupe started the first ten games of the 2015 Swindale Shield for Ories, a tribute to his busy and abrasive play. In a routine 42-20 victory over Avalon injury struck again.

"I broke a shoulder blade and missed all of the Jubilee Cup. I made my comeback in the semi-final against OBU. We lost in the last-minute. It was a really disappointing way to end the season," Tau'alupe recalls.

Evidently in the Avalon game when Tau'alupe was injured prop Whetu Henry scored two tries. Henry is a long-time Ories captain and a much respected figure in the capital.

"Whetu is quiet at training, but on the field he changes. He becomes vocal and speaks with a lot of authority. He has been a great mentor for me."

Tau'alupe has been in fine form in 2016. He has appeared in every game and scored a try in Round 3 against Norths. Ories have scored 40 points or more in their last five games. They have scored more points than any other team in the competition.

"We try to be as physical as possible at the ruck. We know if we can force mistakes we can punish teams out wide because of our pace, “Tau’alupe warns opponents.

Tuga Mativa (8 tries), Ambrose Curtis (6 tries) and James Procter (855 points for the club) have been in a prolific scoring mood lately, but Procter was injured on Saturday and Curtis will soon return to Manawatu along with hooker Hunter Prescott.  Similarly, Hurricanes squad member Iopu Iopu (and another No. 8) is now injured, for the next several weeks at least. Do Ories have the depth to reach the Jubilee Cup final which despite making the semi-finals every year since 2012 they have missed out on?

"I think so guys like Tutasi Masoe and Kane Leaupepe are playing real well and we've got Paulo Aukuso back at centre. There is a real good vibe at the club at the moment,” Tau’alupe enthuses.

Tau'alupe is of Tongan extraction. He hails from Kaori and was a three-times McEevedy Shield Javelin champion.  He enjoys "hanging out" with his family in his spare time.