Wycliff Palu

Wycliff Palu

Full name	Wycliff Palu
Date of birth	27 July 1982 (1982-07-27) (age 29)
Place of birth	Sydney
Height	194 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight	120 kg (18 st 13 lb)
Notable relative(s)	Mark Gerrard, Mo'onia Gerrard
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position	Number 8 and Flanker
Super Rugby
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
2005 -	NSW Waratahs	58	(45)
Current local club	Manly
correct as of 9 March 2010.
National team(s)
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
2006 -	Australia	36	(5)
correct as of 9 March 2010.

Wycliff Palu (born 27 July 1982 in Sydney) is an Australian rugby union footballer of Tongan descent. He plays for the New South Wales Waratahs in the international Super Rugby competition. Also known as Cliffy Palu, he attended Balgowlah Boys High School.

Career

A hard running backrow player Palu made his provincial debut in match against a Samoan side in 2003 after which he enjoyed a stint at NRL side St. George Illawarra Dragons^[1] before returning to Rugby Union. He played for the New South Wales Waratahs in their first trial match of pre-season 2005, against the Crusaders, in which he was awarded the man-of-the-match award. After his good performances during the Waratahs' pre-season, he made his Super 12 debut in week one of the 2005 season against the Chiefs. He was then injured in the week six loss against the Crusaders which saw him out for a lot of the season.

Palu sustained a shoulder injury midway through the 2006 Super 14 season, as he came off the bench in a semi-final against the Hurricanes. Palu was then included in the Wallabies' 2006 mid-year squad.

Palu was named at number eight for the opening Tri-Nations match against New Zealand on 18 July 2009, after he recovered from a hand injury which forced him to miss all of Australia's matches earlier in the year.^[2]

Palu suffered a knee-ligament injury against the Crusaders in April 2010, then a hamstring injury during trials in early 2011. He spent 11 months in recovery, and was expected to return to the Waratahs for the teams's Round 5 match against the Cheetahs 18 March 2011.^[3]

Controversies

Palu has had a few brushes with the law, having spent a 6 month period in a penitentiary centre after an altercation at a night club led to him being charged with aggravated assault and then in January 2009 he was arrested for being caught for the second time in two years for driving without a licence. He was eventually fined and given a suspended sentence.

In late 2009 during the drawn Test between Ireland and Australia, Palu was given a yellow card by the South African referee Jonathan Kaplan for allegedly making a shoulder charge on Rob Kearney, Ireland’s fullback. However, it's suggested Kearney in fact made the shoulder charge on Palu whilst carrying the ball.^[4]

References

1. ^ "Palu may make league switch". Rugby League News. Sporting Life. 15 March 2010. http://www.sportinglife.com/rugbyleague/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=rugby/10/03/15/RUGBYU_Australia.html. Retrieved 15 March 2010. 
2. ^ "Australia name Palu in Test side". BBC Sport. 14 July 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/8149988.stm. Retrieved 14 July 2009. 
3. ^ Pandaram, Jamie (17 March 2011). "Palu returns with a new hunger and outlook". Brisbane Times. Fairfax. http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/rugby-union/union-news/palu-returns-with-a-new-hunger-and-outlook-20110317-1bz26.html. Retrieved 18 March 2011. 
4. ^ Zavos, Spiro (18 November 2009). "The curious case of Wycliff Palu's yellow card". Roar. Conversant Media. http://www.theroar.com.au/2009/11/18/the-curious-case-of-wycliff-palus-yellow-card/. Retrieved 18 March 2011. 

External links

• Waratahs profile
• Wallabies profile
• Drink driving article

Persondata
Name	Palu, Wycliff
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1982-07-27
Place of birth	Sydney
Date of death
Place of death