Peina Taituha - NZ Maori

liverpool annie · Nov 7, 2009

I know he didn't go to war ... but he is an enigma and therefore fascinating !!!

Name - Peina Taituha
Born - 30 April 1901 in Wanganui
Died - 25 February 1958 in Rata

Peina Taituha has always caused intrigue among the game's historians because he played under three different names, each of which appears in official documents. He was also know as Taituha Peina and as Taituha Peina Kingi. The latter appears to have been the correct name and it was this Arthur Swan used to record his death in the 1958 Rugby Almanack.

Taituha, as he was generally known in his rugby career, was a product of the famous Maori college in Central Hawkes Bay, Te Aute, and it was from there he appeared in representative rugby for Hawke's Bay between 1917 (when he would have been only 16) and 1920.

Originally from Wanganui, he returned home and played for the Rata club, which also fielded another future All Black in its backline, in Pat Potaka. A second five eighths or wing, Taituha made the Wanganui representative side in 1921, played for that union until 1923 and again in 1926. He was also in the New Zealand Maori side for the first time in 1921 and played for the Maori up until 1923 and again in 1927.

His most notable appearance for NZ Maori was in the famous 8-9 loss to the touring Springboks in Napier in 1921.

After making the North Island side for the only time in 1923 Taituha played at second five eighths in the first match against the touring New South Wales side in Dunedin. Though the match was won convincingly 19-9 the team was drastically changed for both the second clash against NSW in Christchurch and then the third in Wellington.

Altogether, 37 players were used by the All Blacks in the three matches in what were largely trials for the following year's major tour of Britain and France. Contrary to what some purists of recent times might think a cavalier treatment of the national colours often occurred in the past.

Taituha survived the first test restructure but for the Christchurch match was moved to the wing. Those matches against NSW were to be his only All Black appearances.
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liverpool annie · Nov 7, 2009

Looks like he got married in 1923 !

923 PEINA KINGI TAITUHA 2 C09 35 3 O03 TERINA MOROAITI

http://marvin.otago.ac.nz/marriages...30&maori_year=1923&totalnumber=379&year=maori

And he died in July 1958

MR PEINA K TAITUHA

The death of the former well-known rugby star, Peina K. Taituha, 56 years of age, occurred in Rata recently.

Better known to an older generation of rugby enthusiasts simply as Peina, he was in his time regarded as the rugby “find” of the period.

He played for the Maori All Blacks with his Rata club mate, W. Potaka of Mangaweka. He toured Australia with the Maori All Blacks.

The pair excelled with great collaboration at first and second five-eighth respectively and the Peina-Potaka combination became famous.

http://teaohou.natlib.govt.nz/journals/teaohou/image/Mao23TeA/Mao23TeA003.html

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