Rising Australian Rugby star Taniela Tupou has been named the latest HAVAL Brand Ambassador.
The man dubbed 'The Tongan Thor' took delivery of his H6 LUX from Performax HAVAL in North Brisbane this week.
"It's a beautiful vehicle and I am very proud to become an ambassador for China's number one SUV brand," said Tupou.
HAVAL Australia Chief Marketing Officer Tim Smith said the tight head prop was the perfect fit for the sporty H6.
"The H6 looks great, is fun to drive, offers awesome performance and HAVAL is the next big thing to hit the Australian automotive scene.
"Taniela looks great on the field, makes the game look fun to play, shocks opponents and teammates with his awesome performance and is set to be the next big thing in Australian rugby.
"Together, they are the perfect match for our ambassador program!" said Smith.
Tupou burst onto the world rugby scene as a raw fifteen-year-old, when his natural talent and freakish athletic ability saw him plucked from the obscurity of club rugby in Tonga and given a scholarship to the prestigious Sacred Heart College in Auckland.
Before long the rugby world began to take note of his unbelievable skills and pure power as he took the schoolboys scene by storm.
On his eighteenth birthday the rugby world was put on notice when he scored a hat-trick of tries in the opening game of the 2014 season. Video highlights of this game went viral and before long they had been viewed more than six million times and earned him the nickname "the Tongan Thor".
It resulted in a flood of offers from all over the world including the NRL and NFL.
Ultimately, the battle for his signature became a tug of war between the All Blacks and Wallabies. In Taniela's mind there was no doubt he wanted to play for the Wallabies as it was the team he had supported since he was a child.
Since joining the Reds in the Super Rugby Championship, Tupou has quickly established himself as a regular in the match day squad.
He was subsequently fast tracked by Australian Rugby who sought a dispensation from the international rugby board for the young star to go on the European Tour at the end of 2016.
In July, he was named by coach Michael Cheika in the Wallabies training squad and is expected to make his debut in the famous gold jersey later this year.
Tupou joins Australian Rugby Immortal Mark Ella in the ranks of HAVAL Brand Ambassadors.
His H6 LUX comes standard with a host of features including a powerful 145kW turbocharged engine, panoramic sunroof, Xenon lamps, blind spot monitoring and a sporty six-speed dual clutch transmission.
One of the biggest selling SUVs in the world, the H6 was recently named by the Australian automotive clubs as one of the least expensive medium SUVs to own in Australia.
Editor's note: Picture must carry credit – courtesy Johnny Bigg