While signed with the
Brisbane Broncos, he also played for the
Past Brothers in the
Queensland Cup.
Rugby league Tuqiri won the
1999 Brisbane Broncos season's rookie of the year award. In
2000, he secured his regular spot in the first grade line-up at the club. At the end of the season Tuqiri played for the Broncos on the wing, scoring one try in their
2000 NRL Grand Final victory over the
Sydney Roosters. After that he travelled to England as captain of the
Fiji national team for the
2000 World Cup. Tuqiri had stated that he was considering returning to league after the
2007 Rugby World Cup, following the footsteps of fellow Waratah
Mat Rogers. Tuqiri had options to re-sign his contract with either the Waratahs or the
Reds in the
Super 14, or numerous clubs in the NRL, including the
South Sydney Rabbitohs and
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. After being given a 5:00 pm deadline on 13 March 2007 to either accept or decline the offer from the Australian Rugby Union he announced he had decided to stay in rugby union for the next five years. During a 2007 Super 14 game, Tuqiri pushed
Sam Norton-Knight in the back after Norton-Knight "made a poor on-field decision". but on 1 July 2009 the ARU announced an unexplained, immediate termination of the contract. Subsequently, it has been suggested that the reason for the termination of his contract was that he had entertained a 20-year-old student in his room, in breach of strict team rules. He made his debut for the
Leicester Tigers off the bench against the
Springboks on 6 November 2009 and the Tigers
defeated the World cup holders.
Return to rugby league in 2014 In February 2010, Tuqiri officially announced a return to rugby league after a seven-year absence. Signing a three-year deal with NRL club
Wests Tigers, he was due to arrive in Australia at the end of March, a few weeks into the
2010 NRL season but instead he returned home early to play the Tigers' first home game in the 2010 season against Manly. He played his last game of rugby union against
London Irish where his Leicester side won 35–19. In his return to rugby league, he scored a try on his first touch of the ball, and at least one try in each of his first three games including a double against the Parramatta Eels on 26 March. His form in his return season for the Tigers continued to be strong He played for the Kangaroos in all four matches, including the final, scoring one try. He became the first code-crosser to play test rugby league for Australia a second time after returning from rugby union. Wests Tigers made the semis again in 2011, suffering a broken arm, quad strain and an injury to his ankle. Similarly, injury disrupted his 2012 season. He played his first game in round 5, and was a regular on the wing before breaking his upper arm in July. Coach Sheens said at the time, "The arm’s broken, so that’ll be the end of his season." Before the start of the 2013 season, Tuqiri suffered a setback when scans revealed his broken arm had not healed. He had plates inserted into the arm and underwent bone grafts. He eventually made his return to first grade in round 23, playing in four games for his final season with Wests Tigers. In September 2013, he signed a short-term contract with Irish rugby union team,
Leinster to play in the Pro12 in a three-month deal. On 5 October 2014, Tuqiri was a part of the South Sydney side who defeated the
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 30–6 in the
2014 NRL Grand Final at
ANZ Stadium, Sydney. It was Tuqiri's second NRL title in his career, having won a previous NRL Premiership with the Brisbane Broncos earlier in his career. ==Family==