Karl Tu'inukuafe's guest appearances

Karl Tu'inukuafe

All Blacks Podcast

D'Arcy Waldegrave Drive

An Ordinary Kiwi Podcast

Ian Foster

Grant Fox

Jordie Barrett

Dane Coles

Hayden Paddon

Brandon Smith

Luke Jacobson

Sevu Reece

James Marshall

Lima Sopoaga

Mark Robinson

Niall Williams

Eric Murray

Clark Laidlaw

Doug Bracewell

OwlTail

Karl’s journey is a true Cinderella story of New Zealand rugby. After quiting rugby in high school he never thought he would play again. A few years later he got back into rugby to lose some weight. At this point he had gotten up to 170kg, his weight was starting to become a health issue, and after a couple years of hard work he was an All Black. This is an awesome yarn about his story to becoming an All Black. And also everything before that that people probably don’t know. A great man with some great stories to tell. Thanks for jumping on bro!

Karl’s journey is a true Cinderella story of New Zealand rugby. After quiting rugby in high school he never thought he would play again. A few years later he got back into rugby to lose some weight. At this point he had gotten up to 170kg, his weight was starting to become a health issue, and after a couple years of hard work he was an All Black. This is an awesome yarn about his story to becoming an All Black. And also everything before that that people probably don’t know. A great man with some great stories to tell. Thanks for jumping on bro!

36. Karl Tu'inukuafe

Fresh from being named in the All Blacks squad for the 2021 Steinlager Series, catch up with newly named All Blacks Finlay Christie and Ethan Blackadder alongside 17-Test prop Karl Tu'inukuafe.Host Rob Dunne chats to the players about being named in the squad for the first time, what they can expect while in the environment and looks back at their road into the black jersey.

Fresh from being named in the All Blacks squad for the 2021 Steinlager Series, catch up with newly named All Blacks Finlay Christie and Ethan Blackadder alongside 17-Test prop Karl Tu'inukuafe. Host Rob Dunne chats to the players about being named in the squad for the first time, what they can expect while in the environment and looks back at their road into the black jersey.

Finlay Christie, Ethan Blackadder and Karl Tu’inukuafe

Scotty Stevenson

Karl Tu'inukuafe, the All Blacks' moustachioed cult hero, was one of five players who missed the cut in this morning's Bledisloe Cup test squad announcement – possibly spelling a cruel end to one of rugby's feel-good stories.Tu'inukuafe, affectionately nicknamed Big Karl by fans, rose from relative obscurity and a job as a club bouncer to the bright lights of test rugby within the space of a few months.But the powerful prop has struggled to replicate the form he enjoyed towards the end of last year – where he showcased his scrum motor and running ability during the All Blacks' end of year tour – after his Super Rugby season was spoiled by a virus.Meanwhile, loosehead Atu Moli, who has been on the All Blacks' radar for a while now, has risen up to claim Tu'inukuafe's spot after bouncing back from a horrific leg injury.With the All Blacks needing to cut the number of props in the squad to six for the Wallabies tests, Tu'inukuafe became the unfortunate casualty."It's not that he's (Tu'inukuafe) done anything wrong," said All Blacks coach Steve Hansen."We've said that we want mobile ball playing props who can also do their core roles."We've been on Atu Moli for quite some time. Apart from when he got that nasty injury that kept him out, which was Karl's opportunity."We're still pretty keen on Atu and I guess there's only room for six [props] there and we can't take seven so when we get to the World Cup we can only take five, so we've still got some culling to do."Hansen admitted that mobility, which he said wasn't a strength of Tu'inukuafe, was a factor in the decision."When you talk about mobility you talk about people's ability to get back up off the ground, to fend and get back into it and to be a ball player."In today's game you need props that can do more than just scrum and lift in the lineout. So that's been our challenge in the last 12 months that we've put to our front-rowers and some of them are progressing really well with it and others are still struggling with it."While it seems unlikely that the five casualties in the squad – which also include hooker Asafo Aumua, loose forwards Shannon Frizell and Dalton Papalii, and first-five Josh Ioane – will be able to wrestle their way back into World Cup consideration, Hansen left the door open."They can jump back in the mix but it's obviously getting harder because we're trying to narrow it down. We've got two big games coming up, then we'll reflect and get it down to 31."They'll take the opportunities they get through Mitre 10 Cup and play particularly well. [There] might be injuries. There's a number of things that could arise."All Blacks squad for Bledisloe CupForwardsHookers: Dane Coles, Liam Coltman and Codie Taylor.Props: Owen Franks, Nepo Laulala, Joe Moody, Atu Moli, Angus Ta'avao and Ofa Tuungafasi.Locks: Scott Barrett, Jackson Hemopo, Patrick Tuipulotu and Samuel Whitelock.Loose forwards: Sam Cane, Vaea Fifita, Luke Jacobson, Kieran Read, Ardie Savea and Matt Todd.BacksHalfbacks: TJ Perenara, Aaron Smith and Brad Weber.First five-eighths: Beauden Barrett and Richie Mo'unga.Midfielders: Jack Goodhue, Ngani Laumape, Anton Lienert-Brown and Sonny Bill Williams.Utility backs: Braydon Ennor and Jordie Barrett.Outside backs: George Bridge, Rieko Ioane, Sevu Reece and Ben Smith.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Karl Tu'inukuafe, the All Blacks' moustachioed cult hero, was one of five players who missed the cut in this morning's Bledisloe Cup test squad announcement – possibly spelling a cruel end to one of rugby's feel-good stories. Tu'inukuafe, affectionately nicknamed Big Karl by fans, rose from relative obscurity and a job as a club bouncer to the bright lights of test rugby within the space of a few months. But the powerful prop has struggled to replicate the form he enjoyed towards the end of last year – where he showcased his scrum motor and running ability during the All Blacks' end of year tour – after his Super Rugby season was spoiled by a virus. Meanwhile, loosehead Atu Moli, who has been on the All Blacks' radar for a while now, has risen up to claim Tu'inukuafe's spot after bouncing back from a horrific leg injury. With the All Blacks needing to cut the number of props in the squad to six for the Wallabies tests, Tu'inukuafe became the unfortunate casualty. "It's not that he's (Tu'inukuafe) done anything wrong," said All Blacks coach Steve Hansen. "We've said that we want mobile ball playing props who can also do their core roles. "We've been on Atu Moli for quite some time. Apart from when he got that nasty injury that kept him out, which was Karl's opportunity. "We're still pretty keen on Atu and I guess there's only room for six [props] there and we can't take seven so when we get to the World Cup we can only take five, so we've still got some culling to do." Hansen admitted that mobility, which he said wasn't a strength of Tu'inukuafe, was a factor in the decision. "When you talk about mobility you talk about people's ability to get back up off the ground, to fend and get back into it and to be a ball player. "In today's game you need props that can do more than just scrum and lift in the lineout. So that's been our challenge in the last 12 months that we've put to our front-rowers and some of them are progressing really well with it and others are still struggling with it." While it seems unlikely that the five casualties in the squad – which also include hooker Asafo Aumua, loose forwards Shannon Frizell and Dalton Papalii, and first-five Josh Ioane – will be able to wrestle their way back into World Cup consideration, Hansen left the door open. "They can jump back in the mix but it's obviously getting harder because we're trying to narrow it down. We've got two big games coming up, then we'll reflect and get it down to 31. "They'll take the opportunities they get through Mitre 10 Cup and play particularly well. [There] might be injuries. There's a number of things that could arise." All Blacks squad for Bledisloe Cup Forwards Hookers: Dane Coles, Liam Coltman and Codie Taylor.Props: Owen Franks, Nepo Laulala, Joe Moody, Atu Moli, Angus Ta'avao and Ofa Tuungafasi.Locks: Scott Barrett, Jackson Hemopo, Patrick Tuipulotu and Samuel Whitelock.Loose forwards: Sam Cane, Vaea Fifita, Luke Jacobson, Kieran Read, Ardie Savea and Matt Todd. Backs Halfbacks: TJ Perenara, Aaron Smith and Brad Weber.First five-eighths: Beauden Barrett and Richie Mo'unga.Midfielders: Jack Goodhue, Ngani Laumape, Anton Lienert-Brown and Sonny Bill Williams.Utility backs: Braydon Ennor and Jordie Barrett.Outside backs: George Bridge, Rieko Ioane, Sevu Reece and Ben Smith. See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Scotty Stevenson: Karl Tu'inukuafe major casualty of All Blacks' cull