Paul Tupai is still hitting his targets

He's attracted a cult following in England but there are some Bay of Plenty traits Paul Tupai just can't shake.
Last week, the former Steamer got sinbinned early in a match for his Bedford club team in their English championship match with Doncaster.
No stranger to the judiciary, the former Rangiuru club man got into a brawl with the Doncaster centre ... who just happened to be former Te Puke Sports midfielder and fellow Samoan PJ Gidlow.
"There was a short lineout and I was standing beside our No10 - something happened at the lineout and the ref blew it up but PJ ran an extra 10m and properly wiped out our first-five," Tupai explained. "I just had to lay into him - the next minute, me and him were walking off the field less than 10mins into the game!"
Only he could travel 18,000km to re-enact a Te Puke Baywide local derby match - but then again, there's only ever been one Paul Tupai. Now he's just turned 36 and is into his 18th season of first-class rugby.
Eighth on the all-time Bay of Plenty representative list with 115 games, Tupai's representative career started when he was 19 and stretched the Bay's amateur second division and first division professional times.
An enforcer of the highest order - as long as you were on his team - he left a massive void in Bay of Plenty rugby when he played his last game here in 2005 and departed for England.
A couple of test appearances for Manu Samoa unlocked important doors in Europe and he spent a couple of rewarding years with Northampton Saints in the English premiership before joining Bedford in 2008.
It wasn't long before English fans cottoned on to his appeal.
"Toops is a legend, i love someone who just starts punch ups for no reason on a rugby pitch, it makes the game!!! lol!" says one poster on Facebook's Paul Tupai Appreciation Society site.
"2 tries ... one sinbinning ... a good day at the office!" says another.
It even inspired Birmingham advertising director James Cross to come up with the now-famous 'Send in the Toops' T-shirt (pictured below) when the rugged forward was at Northampton.
"Toops became an instant crowd favourite in Northampton - he stood out for always having his socks rolled down but most importantly for just being a hard bastard," Cross explains.
"He was constantly giving away penalties, sledging his opponents and getting sin-binned - all of which bizarrely made him a legend!
"The club merchandise at the time was all about the superstars - Carlos Spencer, Ben Cohen, and Brucie Reihana had their own T-shirts - and the true heroes were ignored by the club shop, so we were inspired and we did Toops."
Tupai admits he's so far resisted adding one of the T-shirts to his wardrobe, which currently stocks a Bay of Plenty jersey and Rangiuru playing top.
"Someone pointed them out one day and I did a double-take - I thought 'I'm sure that looks like my face on that T-shirt'.
"My wife said I had to get one for the cupboard but I think I'll just stick with my old Bay and Rangiuru jerseys."
Tupai also concedes he's unlikely to be venturing home soon.
"I've just signed on for two more years with Bedford and I'll probably do one more after that. My daughter Leah has just turned 15 and [son] Connor has spent a good chunk of his life over here.
"They're loving it and there are a lot more opportunities over here for them so you can't just go dragging them back."
Tupai has no regrets about making the move to the Northern Hemisphere, but Carl Hayman's million-dollar deal with Toulon prompted a couple of light-hearted longings. "I wish I was a tighthead prop these days - but the props these days are looking like machines. I also wish I was young again but life's good. Coming here was one of the best moves I've ever made."