Career
He plays at second-row and previously played for the Newcastle Knights. He has been described as having "a skill-set reminiscent of a young Sonny Bill Williams."
Born in Wellington, New Zealand, Tapine played his junior rugby league for the Harbour City Eagles, before joining the Wellington Orcas in the New Zealand Rugby League National Competition. Early career
In 2013, Tapine joined the Newcastle Knights on a 1-year contract before re-signing for a further 3 years during the year.
He played for the Knights" New York City team in 2013 and 2014.
On 13 October 2013, he played for the Junior Kiwis against the Junior Kangaroos. 2014
In Round 9 of the 2014 NRL season, Tapine made his NRL debut for the Knights against the Penrith Panthers.
He finished off his debut year in the NRL, having played in 7 games for the Knights. On 2 September, he was named on the interchange bench in the 2014 New York City Team of the Year.
On 18 October, he again played for the Junior Kiwis against the Junior Kangaroos.
2015
Tapine improved on his previous season, playing 13 games and scoring 1 try in the 2015 season. 2016
On 11 February, Tapine signed a 3-year contract with the Canberra Raiders starting in 2017, however, on 23 February, the Knights agreed to release him from the remainder of his contract, freeing him to join the Raiders immediately. In Round 3, he made his Raiders debut against the Knights, playing off the interchange bench.