Dancing with the Stars victory just the start for league-turned-dance star Manu Vatuvei

Manu Vatuvei has taken the Glitterball Trophy for 2019, but even though the show's over, he plans to keep dancing.

He was declared the winner of Dancing with the Stars on Sunday night, after judges gave out 60 points to Laura and Shae, and 59 to Manu and Loryn.

It comes after they competed against the likes of newsreader Mike McRoberts, social media comedian William Waiirua and celebrity chef Nadia Lim.

Vatuvei was in tears, alongside his dance partner for the past three months Loryn Renyolds, after being named the winner of Dancing with the Stars 2019.

He won the public vote off the back of a self-choreographed performance, which wowed the judges who awarded him his first 30/30 score of the season.

With the 10 week show over, and the long days of training that come with it, Vatuvei said he hoped to keep dancing with Reynolds.

They had plans to continue training, the dance duo said, and this show was just the start.

Backstage after the show, Vatuvei thanked his dance partner not just for taking him all the way to the end of the competition but also for helping him find joy after his rugby league career came to an end.

He had played since 2004, for the New Zealand Warriors, the Kiwis, the NRL All stars, an English franchise, and Mate Ma'a Tonga.

But his sporting career came to an end after he was told he had to stop boxing, and on Sunday night Vatuvei spoke about how hard life had been after sport. 

"When I came back from England, I did nothing, I was getting really down. I didn't feel happy about myself. I still have a lot of things to work through, but hopefully this is the start of it," he said.

His dance partner, Reynolds, said she was keen to help him work through and continue to dance with the former sports star.

"We have a connection with each other," he said. "For myself, she's the one who showed me the true meaning of dancing."

Four couples made it to the final on Sunday night, after 10 weeks of dancing live on the telly each night.

William Waiirua, Manu Vatuvei, Randell and Laura Daniel made it to the Dancing with the Stars 2019 grand final.

William and Randell were eliminated halfway through the final, after their first dance.

Randell had just scored a perfect 30, before the announcement was made.

Manu scored the first 30 of his dancing career, with a routine he choreographed himself to Tears for Fears' hit Everybody Wants to Rule the World.