Tone Kopelani

Tone Kopelani (born 22 April 1978) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. In 1997 Kopelani played rugby league in the U19 Super League (Australia) competition for the Penrith Panthers. He was selected for the Junior Kiwis before returning to New Zealand and converting to rugby union. Kopelani made his debut for Canterbury as a flanker in the National Provincial Championship in 1999. He changed his position to hooker in 2001 and went on to play for Canterbury and Wellington in the Air New Zealand Cup and for the Crusaders and Hurricanes in the Super 14 Rugby competition. He was also selected for the Junior All Blacks in 2007. In 2008 Kopelani signed with French club CS Bourgoin Jallieu in the Top 14 competition for 3 seasons. In 2011 Kopelani joined FC Grenoble in the Pro D2 competition where they won promotion to the Top 14. In 2012 Kopelani returned to New Zealand and signed with Northland in the ITM Cup.

Tone Kopelani

Personal information
Born	Tone Alefa Kopelani (1978-04-22) 22 April 1978 Auckland
Height	1.8 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	106 kg (234 lb)
Playing information
Position	Second Row
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1995–1996 New Zealand Schools New Zealand U18 1997 Penrith Panthers U19 Total 0 0 0 0 0 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1997 Junior Kiwis
Rugby union career
Position(s) Hooker Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2008-2011 Bourgoin 54 (15) 2011 Grenoble 22 (5) Provincial / State sides Years Team Apps (Points) 1999,2001-2006 Canterbury 43 (10) 2007 Wellington 3 (5) 2012 Northland 9 (5) Super Rugby Years Team Apps (Points) 2004-2006 Crusaders 31 (5) 2007 Hurricanes 8 (0) International career Years Team Apps (Points) 2007 Junior All Blacks 3 (0)

In 2014 Kopelani graduated as a police constable from the Royal New Zealand Police College.

External links

• Crusaders Profile
• Hurricanes Profile
• Tone Kopelani at ESPNscrum