New Zealand born, England raised scrum-half/fly-half Connor Tupai played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2025. He represented the San Diego Legion for his entire MLR career.

Tupai came up through the Northampton Saints system having moved to England from New Zealand at age 5, and joined the senior academy in 2018. He played in the Saints system (including for the senior side) until 2022, and was dual-contracted to English Championship Side, the Bedford Blues between 2019-2022. Tupai headed to Australia for the 2022/23 season, joining the famous Randwick Galloping Greens in Australia’s Shute Shield competition.

Tupai earned his MLR debut for the San Diego Legion in Round 1 of the 2024 season, when he was named as the starting scrum-half against the Seattle Seawolves. He scored 5 tries in 15 games (14 starts) for the Legion in 2024, running for over 400m in possession as a scrum-half as he helped the Legion record a solid 11-5 record during the regular season. He was named as the starting scrum-half in their Western Conference Semifinal, against the Seattle Seawolves once again, as the Legion fell 30-28. On November 9th, 2024, the San Diego Legion announced the return of Connor Tupai for the 2025 season.

achievements

• MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 13
• MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 8