Charles Piutau


Salesi Tu'ipulotu "Charles" Piutau is a New Zealand rugby union player. He plays in the fullback position for England club Bristol Bears in the Premiership, and formerly for New Zealand's national team the All Blacks.

Early life

Pilatau was born and grew up in Tonga. He is the youngest of 10 children.

Rugby playing career

Junior level

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 played club rugby for Pakuranga United Rugby Club. He is the younger brother of Bristol Bears centre Siale Piutau.

Club career

Piutau 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.
Piutau signed for English club Wasps in the Aviva Premiership during the 2015-16 season. During his season at Wasps, Piutau had a strong impact. He scored a 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.
In August 2017, Ulster confirmed that Piutau would be leaving the province at the end of the 2017–18 Pro14 season to join Bristol Bears.

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. He was not selected for the 2015 World Cup, a factor in his decision to move to play club rugby in Europe.

Test Match Record

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

Personal life

Pilatau married in July 2018.
Pilatau has invested in houses in Auckland.