Cortez Te Pou

Cortez Te Pou
Personal information
Born	6 April 2001 (age 23); Hastings, New Zealand
Playing information
Rugby union
Representative
Rugby league
Position	Wing, centre
Club
	Source: As of 3 November 2023

Cortez P Te Pou^[2] (born 6 April 2001) is a New Zealand rugby league footballer who plays as a winger or centre for the St George Illawarra Dragons in Australia's NRL Women's Premiership (NRLW).

Background[edit]

Of Māori heritage,^[3] Te Pou attended Karamu High School in Hastings and was a Hawkes Bay representative in rugby union. She later moved to New South Wales, Australia, to play rugby league.

Te Pou played for the North Sydney Bears in the 2022 Harvey Norman NSW Women's Premiership, before playing for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the same competition the following season. Prior to the 2023 NRLW season, she signed for the St George Illawarra Dragons.^[4]

During her NRLW debut on 29 July, Te Pou scored two tries as the Dragons defeated the Parramatta Eels 38–12.^[5]

^ "Cortez Te Pou". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
^ "Cortez P Te Pou". New Zealand Rugby History. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
^ Hurndell, Shane (7 September 2019). "Rugby: Promising Tui fullback scores four tries on debut". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 29 July 2023. A New Zealand Maori under-18 squad member who boasts tremendous pace, Te Pou, continues to build on the promise she displayed as a member of the 2014 Hastings East Ross Shield-winning team in Wairoa.
^ "2023 NRLW Signings Tracker: Laing upgraded; McGregor a late withdrawal". National Rugby League. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
^ Beatton, Joel (29 July 2023). "Dragons earn opening win of NRLW season in Wollongong". St George Illawarra Dragons. Retrieved 29 July 2023.