David Niu

David Niu
Personal information
Full nameDavid Niumataiwalu[1]
Born (1966-01-03) 3 January 1966 (age 58)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight192 lb (87 kg)
Playing information
Rugby league
PositionHalfback
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1990–91 St. George 19 2 1 0 10
1991 Villeneuve Leopards
Bramley R.L.F.C.
Bradford Bulls
Total 19 2 1 0 10
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1993–06 United States 60 12 40 0 128
Rugby union
PositionStandoff
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1999 United States 11 1 1 1 11
Coaching information
Rugby league
Club
Years Team Gms W D L W%
1994–2004 Glen Mills Bulls 110 102 0 8 93
Representative
Years Team Gms W D L W%
1993–03 United States 36 22 0 14 61
2009 United States 1 1 0 0 100
2011 United States 1 0 0 1 0
Rugby union
Club
Years Team Gms W D L W%
2000–02 Philadelphia Whitemarsh RFC 16 12 0 4 75
Source: [2]
As of 29 March 2021

David Niumataiwalu, better known as David Niu (born 3 January 1966), is an Australian-American dual-code international rugby league and rugby union administrator, coach and former player. Regarded as one of the founders of rugby league in the United States, he established the American National Rugby League (AMNRL), the United States' first domestic rugby league competition and formerly the national governing body for the sport. He later served as president of AFL Global, an organization promoting arena football.

Niu played for the St. George Rugby Union Club from 1984 to 1989 before shifting to the rugby league code. His professional league career included two seasons 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 halfback. In 1993 he relocated to the United States where he was involved in promoting both codes. He was one of the founders of the United States national rugby league team, and played on the USA Eagles national rugby union team, appearing in the 1999 Rugby World Cup. In 1997 he founded the competition that became the modern AMNRL, serving as its president until 2013.

  1. ^ "Former USA/Australia Flyhalf to Coach Philadelphia". rugby.com.au. 23 August 2001. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference RLP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).