David Kidwell facts for kids
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Personal information
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| Full name | David Leon Peter Jamie Kidwell | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 23 April 1977 Christchurch, New Zealand |
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Playing information
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| Height | 189 cm (6 ft 2 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 108 kg (17 st 0 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Second-row, Centre | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Coaching information
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David Kidwell, born on April 23, 1977, is a sports coach and a former professional rugby league player. He is currently a defence coach for Los Pumas, the national rugby union team of Argentina. As a player, he proudly represented the New Zealand national team, often called the "Kiwis." He was a key part of the teams that won the Tri-Nations in 2005 and the Rugby League World Cup in 2008. David mostly played as a second-rower, but he started his career playing as a centre.
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David Kidwell: A Rugby Star
David Kidwell was born in Christchurch, New Zealand. He grew up playing rugby league.
Early Life and First Steps in Rugby
David started his junior rugby league career with the Hornby Panthers club. This was part of the Canterbury Rugby League competition in New Zealand. In 1995, he played for the Canterbury Country Cardinals in the Lion Red Cup.
He then joined the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in 1996. That same year, he was selected for the Junior Kiwis team. This team is for young, talented New Zealand rugby league players.
Playing for Top Teams
Joining the NRL Clubs
David Kidwell made his first professional game in 1997. He played for the Adelaide Rams against Canberra. In 1999, he moved to the Parramatta Eels. He played in an important final game for them that year.
Later in 1999, David was chosen to play for the New Zealand national team. He played in the Tri-Nations tournament. He came off the bench in the final game against Australia. From 2001 to 2002, David played for the Warrington Wolves in the Super League in England. In 2002, he joined the Sydney Roosters. He played 18 games for the Roosters.
Playing for the Storm and Rabbitohs
In 2003, David Kidwell joined the Melbourne Storm. He played over 100 games for this club. He was part of the team that played in the 2006 NRL Grand Final. In 2006, he signed a contract to play for the South Sydney Rabbitohs until 2009.
In 2007, David was named co-captain of the South Sydney Rabbitohs. He shared this role with Peter Cusack. He had to miss the rest of the 2007 season due to a knee injury. At the end of 2007, David was honored by being named in the Melbourne Storm "Team of the Decade." David Kidwell stopped playing rugby league at the end of the 2009 season.
Playing for New Zealand
David Kidwell made his debut for the New Zealand national team in 1999.
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In 2008, David was chosen for the New Zealand training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup. Later that year, he was named in the final 24-man squad for the Kiwis. He was part of the team that won the World Cup that year, which was a huge achievement for New Zealand rugby league.
Coaching Career
After finishing his playing career, David Kidwell moved into coaching. In 2010, he became the coach for the South Sydney Rabbitohs' Under 20s team. This team finished first in their league that year and reached the Grand Final. However, they were defeated by the New Zealand Warriors Under 20s team.
David later worked as an assistant coach for the Melbourne Storm. He worked under their head coach, Craig Bellamy. In 2013, it was announced that he would join the Wests Tigers as an assistant coach in 2014.
Coaching the New Zealand Kiwis
In 2014, David Kidwell joined the New Zealand national rugby league team as an assistant coach. In 2016, he was appointed as the new head coach of the Kiwis. This was a big step in his coaching career.
During his time as head coach, the Kiwis faced some tough challenges. They lost some important matches, including two Rugby League World Cup games against teams that were not expected to win. David Kidwell was replaced by Michael Maguire after the 2017 World Cup. The team did not make it to the semi-finals that year.
Current Coaching Roles
In 2018, David Kidwell became an assistant coach at the Parramatta Eels, one of his former clubs. In May 2022, it was announced that he had been appointed as the defensive coach for the Argentina national rugby union team. He works with head coach Michael Cheika for this team, known as Los Pumas.
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David Kidwell
