Carlos Tuimavave takes a trip down memory lane and discusses his illustrious rugby league journey with hullfc.com.
The 28-year-old comes from a dedicated and passionate rugby league family, with a number of his relatives playing the game at the top level.
“Two of my uncles, Tony and Paddy, played for New Zealand and Samoa. Evarn played and he was actually at Hull Kingston Rovers for one season,” Tuimavave explained.
“I would say that I’m a family man, so it was only right for me to follow in the footsteps of some of my relatives.
“Over in New Zealand, rugby league is a massive part of the culture. It wasn’t forced on me to play rugby, but I enjoyed playing it so much from a young age that I played pretty much every day.”
From a young age, Tuimavave has been surrounded by talented rugby players, not just in his family.
After beginning his rugby league journey with Richmond Bulldogs in New Zealand at the age of four, Tuimavave, who, at first, played as a halfback, moved to join amateur club Mount Wellington Warriors.
A 16-year-old Tuimavave was terrorising New Zealand’s youth leagues, and it was at this early point in his career that he started to raise the eyebrows of some professional clubs.
“I was playing at Mount Wellington Warriors until the age of 16 and that’s when I got approached by the Bulldogs,” Tuimavave said.
“Luckily enough, I pulled out of school at that point, so I didn’t actually have to get a job in an office, on a building site or something like that.
“I went over to Sydney and spent some time with the Bulldogs, but I ended up getting homesick and luckily New Zealand Warriors approached me.
“To begin with, I started playing for the youth team and I was actually playing in the halves alongside Shaun Johnson. I probably learned a lot from that experience.
“At the same time, Shaun and myself played for the Junior Kiwis. I was actually captain of the team at that point, which was a pretty awesome feeling.
“We had some great players in that squad. There was Shaun Johnson, Jason Taumalolo, Ben Murdoch-Masila and Sebastine Ikahihifo, so we were a pretty mean team.”
But playing at such an esteemed level of rugby league, it was inevitable that Tuimavave would encounter his fair share of talented opponents.
After making his debut for the Warriors against Cronulla Sharks in 2012, Tuimavave went on to make a further eight appearances in a star-studded roster at Mount Smart.
On his debut, Tuimavave came off the bench for the Warriors and took on the likes of Paul Gallen, Andrew Fifita and Tyson Frizell
The following week, Tuimavave lined up against 2015 Clive Churchill Medallist Jonathan Thurston, when the Warriors were humbled by the Cowboys.
“I remember making my debut for the Warriors. We played the Sharks and I came off the bench. I wasn’t expecting to come on until the second half, but one of our boys pulled up and I was thrown on about 15 minutes in,” Tuimavave said.
“It was a really good experience for me. Even though we lost, I got to learn a lot from my debut.
“I played against a lot of really tough players and some very technically gifted players, too. Jonathan Thurston, Paul Gallen, those sort of guys. I’ve been lucky enough to play alongside the likes of Simon Mannering and Shaun Johnson.”
Tuimavave was seeking more game time in the NRL and therefore moved to Newcastle Knights in 2015.
But he would see out just one season with the Knights before testing the waters of Super League, signing a deal with Hull FC ahead of the 2016 season.
“It was an opportunity for me to play first grade footy on a regular basis,” he explained.
“Unlike when I moved to the Bulldogs, I was a much more mature player and there was never really any homesickness when I eventually came over to England.
“I found it quite easy to settle down because there were quite a lot of islanders at Hull at that time – there still are now.”
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