Liz Patu (born 15 July 1989) is an Australian rugby union player. She appeared in three Rugby World Cups for Australia, in 2014, 2017 and at the delayed 2021 tournament. She played Prop for the Queensland Reds in the Super W competition.

Liz Patu
Liz Patu walking onto the pitch to play against New Zealand, August 2018
Date of birth (1989-07-15) 15 July 1989 (age 35)
Place of birthAuckland, New Zealand
Height1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight94 kg (207 lb)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Prop
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
Queensland Reds (0)
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014–2022  Australia 33 (0)

Early life

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Patu was born in Auckland but was raised in her native Samoa. She later migrated to Australia in 2004.[1]

Rugby career

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Patu She made her international debut against New Zealand in 2014.[2][3][4] She was selected for the Wallaroos 2014 Rugby World Cup squad.[5][6][7] She also competed at the 2017 Rugby World Cup in Ireland.[8][9]

Patu played against Japan who had not played a game since 2017.[10][11] In 2018 she was named as captain ahead of their Test series against New Zealand.[2][12][3][13][14] She featured again for Australia in 2019 against New Zealand in two test matches.[15][16]

In 2019 Patu was given a six-week ban for biting Wallaroos team-mate Rebecca Clough in a Super W match.[17][18][19]

Patu was named in Australia's squad for the 2022 Pacific Four Series in New Zealand.[20][21] She was named in the Wallaroos squad for a two-test series against the Black Ferns for the Laurie O'Reilly Cup.[22][23]

Patu appeared in her third, and final, Rugby World Cup when she was selected in the team for the delayed tournament in New Zealand.[24][25] She later announced her retirement from the Wallaroos in December.[26][27]

References

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  1. ^ "Rugby: Our Samoan International Women Captains around the world". www.thecoconet.tv. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Liz Patu confirmed as Buildcorp Wallaroos captain for 2018". australia.rugby. 13 August 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Patu takes the armband". The Women's Game. 13 August 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  4. ^ Woods, Melissa (9 May 2022). "Liz Patu becomes most capped Wallaroo". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  5. ^ "Wallaroos finalise Women's Rugby World Cup squad". rugby.com.au. 16 June 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  6. ^ "Wallaroos name 15 uncapped players for World Cup". ABC News. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  7. ^ "ARU names women's World Cup squad". ESPN.com. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  8. ^ "Seven NSW Women named in Wallaroos Squad for 2017 World Cup Campaign". nsw.rugby. 28 June 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  9. ^ "Two New Caps Included In Australia's WRWC 2017 Squad". Irish Rugby. 28 June 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  10. ^ "Wallaroos excited for match against Japan - who haven't played a game since 2017". www.rugbypass.com. 10 July 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  11. ^ "Buildcorp Wallaroos clean sweep Japan". australia.rugby. 19 July 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  12. ^ Tiernan, Eamonn (13 August 2018). "Kiwi-born Liz Patu named new Wallaroos skipper". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  13. ^ "PREVIEW: Black Ferns v Wallaroos first Test". allblacks.com. 16 August 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  14. ^ "PREVIEW: Black Ferns v Wallaroos second Test". allblacks.com. 23 August 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  15. ^ "PREVIEW: Black Ferns v Wallaroos (Perth)". allblacks.com. 9 August 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  16. ^ "PREVIEW: Black Ferns v Australia (Auckland)". allblacks.com. 15 August 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  17. ^ "Patu cops six week suspension". The Women's Game. 4 March 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  18. ^ "New Zealand-born Australian women's rugby captain Liz Patu banned for six weeks for biting". NZ Herald. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  19. ^ Greenwood, Emma (21 February 2020). "Remorse, reform and renewal: Why Red Liz Patu won't be defined by mistake". rugby.com.au. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  20. ^ Williamson, Nathan (19 May 2022). "Wallaroos announce squad for Pacific Four". wallaroos.rugby. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  21. ^ Woods, Melissa (19 May 2022). "Nine new Wallaroos for Pacific Four rugby". 7NEWS. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  22. ^ "Wallaroos name 32-player squad". ESPN.com. 2 August 2022. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  23. ^ "Maya Stewart, Emily Robinson, and Asatasi Lafai named in Wallaroos squad to face Black Ferns". nsw.rugby. 2 August 2022. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  24. ^ Williamson, Nathan (7 September 2022). "Wallaroos confirm Rugby World Cup squad". www.rugby.com.au. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  25. ^ Worthington, Sam (7 September 2022). "Rugby stars to play two World Cups in a month". wwos.nine.com.au. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  26. ^ Williamson, Nathan (14 December 2022). "Liz Patu confirms retirement from Wallaroos". wallaroos.rugby. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  27. ^ Worthington, Sam (15 December 2022). "Aussie great calls time on 'extraordinary' career". wwos.nine.com.au. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
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