David Niu
Encyclopedia
David Niumataiwalu, better known as David Niu (born January 3, 1966), is an Australia
n-American
rugby league
and rugby union
administrator, coach, and former player. Regarded as one of the founders of rugby league in the United States, he is currently president of the American National Rugby League
(AMRNL), the country's oldest rugby league competition and the national governing body for the sport.
Niu played for the St. George Rugby Union team from 1984 to 1987 before shifting to the rugby league code. His professional league career included a stint with the St. George Dragons
in Australia's New South Wales Rugby League
(now the National Rugby League
) from 1990 to 1991; his position was /. In 1992 he relocated to the United States where he was involved in promoting both codes. He was one of the founders of the USA Tomahawks national rugby league team, and played on the USA Eagles national union team, appearing in the 1999 Rugby World Cup
. In 1997 he founded the competition that became the modern AMNRL.
, and attended James Cook Boys Technology High School
in nearby Kogorah
. He is of Fiji
an descent.
Niu played rugby union
for St. George RUFC from 1984 to 1989, playing a total of 250 first division games. In 1986 he was one of three winners of the Ken Catchpole
Medal. In 1987 he earned a spot on the Australian national rugby union team training squad for the 1987 Rugby World Cup
.
Niu shifted to professional rugby league
in 1989. In 1990 he was signed by the St. George Dragons
of the New South Wales Rugby League premiership
(now the National Rugby League
), Australia's highest rugby league competition, as a /. He played for St. George for two seasons, appearing in a total of nineteen games and scoring two tries
and one field goal. As a former Dragons player, Niu has been outspoken about the club moving away from Kogarah's WIN Jubilee Oval. He later played for the Villeneuve Leopards in France
, and had spells with the Bramley Buffaloes
and Bradford Bulls
in the United Kingdom
before retiring.
, Niu met his future wife Donna Camac, an American. He relocated to her hometown of Philadelphia, where he took a job as a teacher at the Glen Mills Schools, a reform school for court-referred youth with an aptitude for sports. He worked to introduce rugby league at the school, drawing the attention of American rugby league enthusiast Mike Mayer. Niu and Mayer organized a U.S. national rugby league team
for a trip to the 1992 Rugby League World Sevens
in Sydney. After Mayer departed Niu continued developing the national team, bringing them to international competitions such as the 1995 Emerging Nations Tournament
and a short tour of Australia in 1997.
During this time, Niu also played rugby union in the U.S. He was named to the United States national rugby union team
, making eleven international appearances, including at the 1999 Rugby World Cup
. In 2000 he became head coach of Philadelphia Whitemarsh RFC
in the Rugby Super League, the highest level of rugby union in the United States.
In 1997 Niu was one of the founders of Super League America, the first major attempt to organize a domestic rugby league competition in the United States, and served as the new league's executive director. The organization managed the national team and launched a six-club domestic competition. On top of serving as head of Super League America, Niu was also player-coach for the Glen Mills Bulls (now the Aston Bulls
), the most dominant team in the league. In 2000 Super League America reorganized as the United States Rugby League, and the following year it became the American National Rugby League, its current incarnation.
In 2009 Niu was involved in establishing a new American professional rugby league competition, the National Rugby League USA
(NRLUS). Niu was reported to be commissioner of the league, which had a launch date of 2010, however as of 2010 the NRLUS has not gotten off the ground. Niu cited the Late-2000s recession as a factor in the league's lack of progress. Niu was also heavily involved in planning the Atlantic Cup
tournament, beginning in 2009, and in the United States being awarded the qualifying tournament for the final berth in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
and rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
administrator, coach, and former player. Regarded as one of the founders of rugby league in the United States, he is currently president of the American National Rugby League
American National Rugby League
The American National Rugby League is a rugby league football competition for semi-professional clubs in the United States. It is the country's first domestic rugby league competition...
(AMRNL), the country's oldest rugby league competition and the national governing body for the sport.
Niu played for the St. George Rugby Union team from 1984 to 1987 before shifting to the rugby league code. His professional league career included a stint with the St. George Dragons
St. George Dragons
The St George Dragons was an Australian Rugby league football club in St George, Sydney, New South Wales that played in Australia's top-level Rugby league competition from New South Wales Rugby Football League in 1921 until 1998; in 1999 they formed a joint venture with the Illawarra Steelers,...
in Australia's New South Wales Rugby League
New South Wales Rugby League
The New South Wales Rugby League is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and is a member of the Australian Rugby League. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was known as the New South Wales Rugby Football League until 1984 when forward thinking marketing managers decided...
(now the National Rugby League
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
) from 1990 to 1991; his position was /. In 1992 he relocated to the United States where he was involved in promoting both codes. He was one of the founders of the USA Tomahawks national rugby league team, and played on the USA Eagles national union team, appearing in the 1999 Rugby World Cup
1999 Rugby World Cup
The 1999 Rugby World Cup was the fourth Rugby World Cup, and the first to be held in rugby union's professional era. The principal host nation was Wales, although the majority of matches were played outside the country, shared between England, France, Scotland and Ireland...
. In 1997 he founded the competition that became the modern AMNRL.
Early life and rugby career
Niumataiwalu was born and raised in SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, and attended James Cook Boys Technology High School
James Cook Boys Technology High School
James Cook Boys' Technology High School is a boys' school situated on Princes Highway in Kogarah, Australia.-History:James Cook was founded in 1957 after Moorefield racecourse was demolished and the ground was divided into housing development and two schools: Moorefield Girls High School and James...
in nearby Kogorah
Kogarah, New South Wales
Kogarah is a suburb of southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Kogarah is located 14 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is considered to be the centre of the St George area...
. He is of Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
an descent.
Niu played rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
for St. George RUFC from 1984 to 1989, playing a total of 250 first division games. In 1986 he was one of three winners of the Ken Catchpole
Ken Catchpole
Ken Catchpole OAM, is a former Australian rugby union footballer. A state and national representative half-back, he played twenty-seven matches for Australia, thirteen as captain. Catchpole rose through the ranks at the Randwick club as a young man, before making his debut for New South Wales...
Medal. In 1987 he earned a spot on the Australian national rugby union team training squad for the 1987 Rugby World Cup
1987 Rugby World Cup
The 1987 Rugby World Cup was the first Rugby World Cup. New Zealand and Australia agreed to co-host the first ever tournament with New Zealand hosting seventeen pool stage matches, two quarter-finals and the final with Australia being the junior partner hosting seven pool matches, two...
.
Niu shifted to professional rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
in 1989. In 1990 he was signed by the St. George Dragons
St. George Dragons
The St George Dragons was an Australian Rugby league football club in St George, Sydney, New South Wales that played in Australia's top-level Rugby league competition from New South Wales Rugby Football League in 1921 until 1998; in 1999 they formed a joint venture with the Illawarra Steelers,...
of the New South Wales Rugby League premiership
New South Wales Rugby League premiership
The New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the first rugby league football club competition established in Australia. Run by the New South Wales Rugby League from 1908 until 1994, the premiership was the state's and later the country's elite rugby league competition...
(now the National Rugby League
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
), Australia's highest rugby league competition, as a /. He played for St. George for two seasons, appearing in a total of nineteen games and scoring two tries
Try
A try is the major way of scoring points in rugby league and rugby union football. A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area...
and one field goal. As a former Dragons player, Niu has been outspoken about the club moving away from Kogarah's WIN Jubilee Oval. He later played for the Villeneuve Leopards in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and had spells with the Bramley Buffaloes
Bramley Buffaloes
Bramley Buffaloes is a rugby league club from the Bramley area of West Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. Previously known simply as Bramley RLFC, the club is a famous name in rugby league, having existed prior to the formation of the Northern Union in 1895...
and Bradford Bulls
Bradford Bulls
Bradford Bulls is a professional rugby league club based in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. They play in the European Super League and are currently joint 10th in the league....
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
before retiring.
American career
In 1991, while on a team retreat in HawaiiHawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, Niu met his future wife Donna Camac, an American. He relocated to her hometown of Philadelphia, where he took a job as a teacher at the Glen Mills Schools, a reform school for court-referred youth with an aptitude for sports. He worked to introduce rugby league at the school, drawing the attention of American rugby league enthusiast Mike Mayer. Niu and Mayer organized a U.S. national rugby league team
United States national rugby league team
-2008 & 2013 Rugby League World Cup Qualifying:In October 2006, The Tomahawks were to participate in a four team Atlantic qualifying pool for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, but South Africa and the West Indies withdrew. As a result, The Atlantic qualifying pool was reduced to a single game...
for a trip to the 1992 Rugby League World Sevens
Rugby League World Sevens
The Rugby League World Sevens, usually referred to as the World Sevens and sometimes as the World Cup Sevens, were a pre-season rugby league sevens tournament made up over the years primarily of New South Wales Rugby League , Australian Rugby League and mostly recently National Rugby League ...
in Sydney. After Mayer departed Niu continued developing the national team, bringing them to international competitions such as the 1995 Emerging Nations Tournament
1995 Rugby League Emerging Nations Tournament
The 1995 Rugby League Emerging Nations Tournament was held alongside the Centenary Rugby League World Cup. Although the competition received little build-up or promotion, the novelty value of the teams taking part encourage relatively large crowds, and the competition was a success...
and a short tour of Australia in 1997.
During this time, Niu also played rugby union in the U.S. He was named to the United States national rugby union team
United States national rugby union team
USA Rugby's men's national rugby union team, nicknamed the Eagles, represents the United States in the sport of rugby union. The Eagles are currently ranked 17th by the IRB World Rankings. Their highest ranking was from November 2, 2006 – September 10, 2007 at the 14th position...
, making eleven international appearances, including at the 1999 Rugby World Cup
1999 Rugby World Cup
The 1999 Rugby World Cup was the fourth Rugby World Cup, and the first to be held in rugby union's professional era. The principal host nation was Wales, although the majority of matches were played outside the country, shared between England, France, Scotland and Ireland...
. In 2000 he became head coach of Philadelphia Whitemarsh RFC
Philadelphia Whitemarsh RFC
Philadelphia Whitemarsh Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. They are currently members of the Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union, the organizational body for the sport in eastern Pennsylvania, and currently play in USA Rugby Men's Club Division...
in the Rugby Super League, the highest level of rugby union in the United States.
In 1997 Niu was one of the founders of Super League America, the first major attempt to organize a domestic rugby league competition in the United States, and served as the new league's executive director. The organization managed the national team and launched a six-club domestic competition. On top of serving as head of Super League America, Niu was also player-coach for the Glen Mills Bulls (now the Aston Bulls
Aston Bulls
The Aston Bulls, also known as the Aston Delco Sports Club Bulls , are a semi-professional rugby league football team based in Aston Township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The team currently plays in the American National Rugby League , the United States' oldest competition...
), the most dominant team in the league. In 2000 Super League America reorganized as the United States Rugby League, and the following year it became the American National Rugby League, its current incarnation.
In 2009 Niu was involved in establishing a new American professional rugby league competition, the National Rugby League USA
National Rugby League USA
The National Rugby League USA is a proposed professional rugby league football competition to be based in the United States. The league was first announced in 2009, with an intended kickoff date of 2010...
(NRLUS). Niu was reported to be commissioner of the league, which had a launch date of 2010, however as of 2010 the NRLUS has not gotten off the ground. Niu cited the Late-2000s recession as a factor in the league's lack of progress. Niu was also heavily involved in planning the Atlantic Cup
Atlantic Cup (rugby league)
The Rugby League Atlantic Cup is an annual rugby league football tournament held in Jacksonville, Florida. Initiated in 2009, it is hosted by the Jacksonville Axemen rugby league team at Hodges Stadium on the University of North Florida campus....
tournament, beginning in 2009, and in the United States being awarded the qualifying tournament for the final berth in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup.