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Born in Lower Hutt to Samoan immigrant parents, Tana Umaga was originally a rugby league player (and an Under 19's New Zealand representative in that sport for two years), before switching to union. He first played for Wellington in the NPC in 1994 (and has captained them since 2001), has played for the Hurricanes in the Super 12 since the tournament's inception in 1996 (captaining them in the 2003 and 2004 seasons), and was first picked for the All Blacks in 1997. Long established as a winger, he moved to playing in the centres at the end of 2000 and has been acknowledged as one of the hardest tacklers in the game.

Umaga is also respected for his sportsmanship. In a test match against Wales on June 21, 2003, Welsh captain Colin Charvis was knocked out by a tackle from All Blacks forward Jerry Collins , and Umaga stopped playing (despite his team being in an attacking position) to check that Charvis had not swallowed his tongue, and place him in the recovery positionThe recovery position is a first aid technique recommended for assisting people who are unconscious, or nearly so, but are still breathing. It is frequently taught as part of classes in CPR ( cardiopulmonary resuscitation}. One of the aims of the recovery. For this act, the International Committee for Fair Play awarded Umaga the Pierre de Coubertin Trophy , an award for outstanding sportsmanship (named for Pierre de CoubertinBaron Pierre de Coubertin ( January 1, 1863- September 2, 1937), born as Pierre de Fredy was a French pedagogue and historian, but is best known as the founder of the modern Olympic Games. Born in Paris into an aristocratic family, De Coubertin was inspir, the founder of the modern Olympic GamesOlympic Flame from Olympia to the opening ceremony. The Olympic Games or Olympics are an international multi-sport event taking place every fourth year. Originally held in ancient Greece, they were revived by a French nobleman, Pierre Fredy, Baron de Coub). The Welsh Rugby Union also presented him with a figurine to honour this display of sportsmanship.

Umaga unfortunately missed virtually the entire 2003 Rugby Union World CupThe 2003 Rugby Union World Cup was the fifth world cup in rugby history. It was won by England. Originally planned to be played in Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights be, after being injured in a freak collision with teammate Carlos Spencer in the opening match against ItalyThe Italian Republic or Italy ( Italian: Italia is a country in the south of Europe, consisting mainly of a boot-shaped peninsula together with two large islands in the Mediterranean Sea: Sicily and Sardinia. To the north, where it borders France, Switzer. He suffered a damaged posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, and was forced to leave the field, not returning for the remainder of the tournament, which saw the All Blacks eliminated in the semi-finals by the WallabiesThe Wallabies are the Australian rugby union national team. They won the Rugby World Cup in 1991 and 1999, and lost in the final match in extra time to England in 2003. The Australian Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Australia. It was f.

However, his next outing for the All Blacks was as their captain, after he was selected to replace Reuben ThorneReuben Thorne (born January 2, 1975) is a New Zealand rugby union player, and former captain of the national team, the All Blacks. Playing as a flanker, Thorne first appeared in the Super 12 with the Canterbury Crusaders in 1998. He became captain in 2002, becoming the first New Zealander of Pacific IslanderA Pacific Islander or Pacific Person (plural: Pacific People is a term used in several places, such as New Zealand and the United States, to describe people of a certain heritage In New Zealand, it is applied to a person who has emigrated from one of the heritage to captain the All Blacks. Umaga's captaincy began well, with victory in the first six tests, including two against World Cup holders England (a 36-3 win in Dunedin was at that time the heaviest loss ever by a World Cup holding team), and a successful defence of the Bledisloe Cup. Unfortunately, these victories were followed by losses in away games against Australia and South Africa, putting the All Blacks out of contention for the 2004 Tri Nations Series.

Tana's elder brother Mike was also a rugby international, although for Samoa, not New Zealand. The brothers met in one test match, in 1999—the All Blacks won 71-13, with Tana scoring two tries.