 He moved to Australia with his family at the age of 15, settling at Sunnybank, Queensland (a suburb of Brisbane) where he began playing competitive sport for the Souths Sunnybank Rugby League while attending school at Sunnybank State High School.While signed with the Brisbane Broncos, he also played for the Past Brothers in the Queensland Cup.Tuqiri won the 1999 Brisbane Broncos season's rookie of the year award.