Kieran Read

Kieran Read
Full name Kieran James Read
Date of birth (1985-10-26) 26 October 1985
Place of birth Papakura, New Zealand
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Weight 110 kg (17 st 5 lb)
School Rosehill College
University University of Canterbury
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position Number 8, Blindside Flanker
New Zealand No. 1083
Professional / senior clubs
Years Club / team Caps (points)
2006– Canterbury 37 (50)
correct as of 28 July 2013.
Super Rugby
Years Club / team Caps (points)
2007– Crusaders 133 (105)
correct as of 23 July 2016.
National team(s)
Years Club / team Caps (points)
2008– New Zealand 97 (105)
correct as of 26 November 2016.

Kieran Read (born 26 October 1985) is the captain of the All Blacks, New Zealand's national rugby union team. He also plays for the Crusaders in the Super Rugby competition. He was the IRB Player of the Year in 2013 and a key member of 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cup winning teams, becoming one of only 20 dual Rugby World Cup winners.

He supplanted Rodney So'oialo as the All Blacks' first-choice number 8 in 2009. After occasionally captaining the team at times when Richie McCaw was unavailable, he was appointed to the full captaincy before the 2016 test season.

Early life

Read played his childhood rugby in the small town of Drury in the Counties Manukau region, just south of Auckland. He attended Opaheke Primary School (where his mother taught) and Rosehill College, with a one-year interlude at Saint Kentigern College in 2000. Read excelled in all aspects of school life, but especially on the sports field. He gained excellent marks through to the end of seventh form. He was Head Boy of the 2000-student Rosehill College, as well as Sportsman of the Year and Sports All-rounder of the Year. Read was a talented cricketer, representing Northern District age-group teams and being selected for the New Zealand Under-17 tournament side in 2002.[1]

Rugby career

Provincial

Despite his age-group success as a cricket batsman, Read focused his efforts on rugby. One year after leaving school, he began his professional career in the Canterbury development squad. Read played his first National Provincial Championship game in 2006, his second year out of college.

Super Rugby

Read played for the Crusaders in the Super 14 in 2007 as a blindside flanker. He moved to number 8 during the 2008[2] season, culminating in the squad winning the Super Rugby title.[3]

He first captained the side in 2011, standing in for an injured Richie McCaw.[4] In 2012, Read led the team for their first 10 matches while McCaw was rested.[5] In 2013, another extended rest for McCaw saw Read named captain, although he missed six consecutive games with a toe injury.[6]

All Blacks

Read scoring a try at the 2011 Rugby World Cup

Read was first selected for the All Blacks for the end-of-season tour in 2008, making his debut against Scotland on 8 November. In 2009 he became the All Blacks' first-choice number 8, displacing veteran Rodney So'oialo.[7]

In 2010, Read was named New Zealand Rugby Player of the Year.[8]

Read was named in the All Blacks for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, which was hosted by New Zealand. He played in four of the team's seven matches – the pool game against Canada, the quarter-final against Argentina, the semi-final against Australia, and the final against France.[9] The All Blacks became world champions for the second time by beating France 8-7 in the final.[10]

Read became the 66th All Blacks captain when he led the team against Italy at Rome's Olympic Stadium in 2012, helping to win the match 42–10.[11] He captained the side in later matches when regular captain Richie McCaw was not playing.

On 15 June 2013, Read played his 50th test, which coincided with All Blacks' 500th test match, in the second game of the series between New Zealand and France at AMI Stadium. The All Blacks won 30–0.[12]

Read won the 2013 IRB Player of the Year title, becoming the third New Zealander to win the award. He also won the top national rugby player award.[13]

On 17 June 2015, against Argentina at Christchurch, Kieran Read scored his 18th try and moved past former All Black Zinzan Brooke as the most prolific try-scoring New Zealand Number 8 at test level.[14]

Read played in all seven All Blacks matches in the 2015 Rugby World Cup, which was held in England and ultimately won by New Zealand. He captained the side against Tonga when Richie McCaw was rested.[15]

As of 2015, Read had captained the All Blacks nine times in his 84 tests. In 2016, he was promoted from vice-captain to permanent captain, succeeding flanker McCaw.[16]

Personal life

Read is married to Bridget Read (née Funnell). They have two daughters.

References

  1. ↑ "Drury Rugby Club". druryrugby.co.nz. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  2. ↑ "Crusaders Player Profile". crusaders.co.nz. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  3. ↑ "Defining Moments". crusaders.co.nz. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  4. ↑ "Crusaders team to play Blues named". 3 News. 8 June 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  5. ↑ "McCaw back starting and leading Crusaders". 9 May 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  6. ↑ Richens, Matt (16 May 2013). "Captain Kieran Read back to lead Crusaders". Fairfax Media (stuff.co.nz). Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  7. ↑ "All Blacks Player Profile". allblacks.com. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  8. ↑ "Read takes NZ rugby player of the year award". The New Zealand Herald. APN. NZPA. 16 December 2010.
  9. ↑ "The squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup". allblacks.com. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  10. ↑ "The squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup". BBC. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  11. ↑ "Read to skipper All Blacks against Italy". espn.com.au/rugby. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
  12. ↑ "All Blacks Thump France in 500th Test". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  13. ↑ "All Black Kieran named IRB Player of the Year for 2013". rugbydump.com. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  14. ↑ "New Zealand vs Argentina – five things we learned from Rugby Championship opener". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  15. ↑ "The All Blacks squad for Rugby World Cup 2015". allblacks.com. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  16. ↑ "All Blacks squad named for 2016 Steinlager Series". allblacks.com. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
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