Kieran Read facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Kieran Read

Read in 2020
Birth name	Kieran James Read
Date of birth	(1985-10-26) 26 October 1985 (age 39)
Place of birth	Papakura, New Zealand
Height	193 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight	111 kg (245 lb; 17 st 7 lb)
School	Rosehill College
University	University of Canterbury
Notable relative(s)	Ruby Harper (Cousin)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Number 8, Flanker Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2020–2021 Toyota Verblitz 10 (10) Provincial / State sides Years Team Apps (Points) 2006–2016 Canterbury 38 (45) 2017–2020 Counties Manukau 5 (5) Super Rugby Years Team Apps (Points) 2007–2019 Crusaders 156 (125) National team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 2005–2006 New Zealand U21 10 (0) 2007 Junior All Blacks 3 (0) 2008–2019 New Zealand 127 (130)

Kieran James Read ONZM (born 26 October 1985) is a famous New Zealand rugby union player. He played as a 'number 8' (a special position) and used to be the captain of New Zealand's national team, the All Blacks.

Read played for New Zealand from 2008 to 2019. He is one of the players with the most international games ever. He is also the fourth-most-capped All Black in history. He played 127 test matches and scored 26 tries for his country. Kieran Read was the captain of the All Blacks 52 times.

He was named the IRB Player of the Year in 2013. He was also a very important player in New Zealand's teams that won the 2011 and 2015 World Cups. This made him one of only 43 players to win multiple men's Rugby World Cups.

Read played for the Crusaders in the Super Rugby competition. He also played for Canterbury and Counties Manukau in the Mitre 10 Cup. His last season was in Japan with Toyota Verblitz.

Kieran Read's Early Life and School

Kieran Read played rugby as a child in a small town called Drury. This town is in the Counties Manukau area, just south of Auckland. He went to Opaheke Primary School, where his mother was a teacher. He also attended Rosehill College, except for one year at Saint Kentigern College in 2000.

Read was excellent at school, especially in sports. He got great grades throughout his time there. He was even the Head Boy of Rosehill College, which had 2000 students. He also won awards for Sportsman of the Year. Read was a very good cricketer too. He played for Northern District age-group teams. In 2002, he was chosen for the New Zealand Under-17 tournament team.

Kieran Read's Professional Rugby Career

Playing for Provinces

Even though he was a successful cricket player, Read decided to focus on rugby. One year after finishing school, he started his professional rugby journey. He joined the Canterbury development squad. Read played his first game in the National Provincial Championship in 2006. This was his second year after leaving college.

Playing for the Crusaders in Super Rugby

Read joined the Crusaders team in the Super 14 competition in 2007. He started as a 'blindside flanker'. In the 2008 season, he moved to his main position, 'number 8'. That year, his team won the Super Rugby title.

He first became captain of the Crusaders in 2011. He stepped in when Richie McCaw was injured. In 2012, Read led the team for their first 10 matches. McCaw was resting at that time. In 2013, McCaw rested again, and Read was named captain. However, he missed six games because of a toe injury.

Read was the official captain of the Crusaders from 2014 to 2016. The team did not make the playoffs in 2015, which was disappointing. When a new coach, Scott Robertson, took over in 2017, Read was no longer captain. Read missed the first half of the 2017 season due to wrist surgery. Sam Whitelock became the new captain. Read played only 7 matches for the Crusaders that year. He started in the final game, which they won 25–17 against the Lions. Read scored 6 tries for the Crusaders that year, including two games where he scored two tries.

Read missed many Super Rugby games again in the 2018 Super Rugby season due to injuries. He returned to play after the Steinlager series against France. Read started for the Crusaders in the 2018 Super Rugby Final on 4 August. He played very well and helped his team beat the Lions again, winning 37–18. This was the first time in 10 years that the Crusaders won a Super Rugby final at home. Read was the only player left from the 2008 Super 14 season's winning team.

Kieran Read's All Blacks Career

Starting with the All Blacks

Read scoring a try at the 2011 Rugby World Cup

Kieran Read was first chosen for the All Blacks team in 2008. He played his first game on 8 November in a 32–6 win against Scotland. Read started as a blindside flanker and played the whole game. He also came off the bench in three other games during that tour.

In 2009, he was still part of the All Blacks team. He played in the first game of a two-test series against France, which the All Blacks lost 22–27. Read then started at 'number 8', his favorite position, in the next game against France. The All Blacks won 14–10. Read often played alongside Jerome Kaino as a blindside flanker. This pairing was used by the All Blacks for many years. Read started seven more times in 2009. He became the All Blacks' main 'number 8' that year. He took over from Rodney So'oialo, who had played 62 tests and was now retired.

Read scored his first international try for the All Blacks on 12 June 2010. The team beat Ireland 66–28. Read played a lot of games that year. He started in all 14 test matches for the All Blacks in 2010. Only two players did this, the other being captain Richie McCaw. Read was the second-highest try-scorer for the All Blacks in 2010. He scored 5 more tries that year. He scored tries in wins against South Africa, Australia, and England. Read ended his 2010 season with excellent performances against Ireland and Wales. He scored two tries in one game for the first time in a 38–18 win over Ireland. Read was named New Zealand Rugby Player of the Year. He won this award over Richie McCaw, who was named World Rugby's Player of the Year for the third time.

Read was chosen for the All Blacks' 30-man squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. New Zealand hosted this tournament. He played in four of the team's seven matches. These included a pool game against Canada, the quarter-final against Argentina, the semi-final against Australia, and the final against France. The All Blacks became world champions for the second time by beating France 8–7 in the final.

Success in 2012-2015

Read had another great year for the All Blacks in 2012, playing 12 test matches. On 17 November 2012, Read became the 66th All Blacks captain. He led the team for the first time against Italy in Rome. He scored a try to help the All Blacks win the match 42–10.

Richie McCaw decided to take a break for the first half of 2013. So, Read was named captain of the All Blacks for the three-test series against France. On 15 June 2013, Read captained the team for the third time. This was also his 50th test match. It was also the All Blacks' 500th test match. The All Blacks won 30–0. Read captained the All Blacks three more times that year. He scored two tries against South Africa in the first 20 minutes of a game.

Read won the 2013 IRB Player of the Year award. He played in 13 of the 14 All Black tests that year. He became the third New Zealander to win this award. His teammates Dan Carter and Richie McCaw had won it before. He also won the top national rugby player award. Read was not taken off the field in any game that year. He only missed 20 minutes of play due to yellow cards.

Read missed the first two tests of 2014 because of a concussion. Jerome Kaino played in his place. Read returned to international rugby on 21 June 2014. The All Blacks beat England 36–13. Read only played for 40 minutes against England. Read scored two tries in 2014. He helped the All Blacks beat Australia 51–20 on 23 August 2014. He scored the final try against Wales on 22 November 2014. Read captained the All Blacks for the eighth time on 1 November 2014. He led the team to a 74–6 win against the United States in Chicago.

On 17 June 2015, against Argentina, Kieran Read scored his 18th try. This made him the most prolific try-scoring New Zealand 'Number 8' in test matches. He passed former All Black Zinzan Brooke.

Read played in all seven All Blacks matches in the 2015 Rugby World Cup. This tournament was held in England and won by New Zealand. He captained the team to a 47–9 win against Tonga during the pool games. This was when Richie McCaw was resting. Read started in all three knockout rounds of the World Cup. He scored his third try of the 2015 season in the quarter-final. The All Blacks beat France 62–13. Read continued to play an important role in the 2015 World Cup. He played the full 80 minutes in the semi-final win over South Africa (20–18). He also played in the All Blacks' historic 34–17 victory over Australia in the final on 31 October 2015. Read captained the All Blacks for the last few seconds of the final. He earned his second World Cup winner's medal. This made him one of only 20 players to win multiple Rugby World Cups.

Captain of the All Blacks (2016-2017)

In 2016, Read became the official Captain of the All Blacks. He took over from Richie McCaw, who retired after the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Read played a lot of games as captain in 2016. He started in every test match except one. He was only replaced once that year.

Read returned from a broken thumb to captain the All Blacks against the British & Irish Lions in 2017. He played so well that he won the Man of The Match award. He also made a big tackle on Lions player Owen Farrell. Read was replaced with four minutes left of the first test. The All Blacks won 30–15. Read captained the team in his 100th test match on 8 July 2017. This was the third test of the Lions series. The series ended in a draw, 15–15.

Read continued as captain of the All Blacks for the rest of 2017. He scored two tries in the second test against Argentina on 1 October 2017. This brought his total tries to 23. He was set up for his first try by Waisake Naholo. Damian McKenzie helped him score his second. Read had back surgery to help with pain in his leg. So, he missed the last test of the 2017 season. Crusaders captain Sam Whitelock captained the All Blacks against Wales in Read's absence.

Playing in 2018

Read did not play in the All Blacks' three-test series against France in June 2018. He was still recovering from his injury. Sam Whitelock captained the All Blacks during this time. Luke Whitelock played in Read's 'number 8' position.

Read returned to Super Rugby after the French tour. He played his first game for Counties Manukau. Read fully recovered from his injury. He started for the Crusaders in all three playoff matches of the 2018 Super Rugby season. This included the final on 4 August 2018. Read played a big part in the Crusaders winning the final. He was back in top form. The Crusaders beat the Lions in the final for the second year in a row, winning 37–18.

Read returned to international rugby as All Black captain for the 2018 Rugby Championship. Sam Whitelock stepped down from captaincy. Read led the All Blacks to win the Bledisloe Cup for the 16th year in a row. They also won against Los Pumas 46–24. Read was replaced in the 58th minute of that game.

The fourth round of the Rugby Championship brought a big surprise. The All Blacks lost to South Africa at home on 15 September 2018. Read stayed calm until the end of the game. The All Blacks lost 34–36. Read was rested for round five. Ardie Savea started at 'number 8', and Sam Whitelock captained the team.

Read returned on 6 October for the last test of the Rugby Championship. It was against South Africa. Read led the All Blacks to a close 32–30 victory. His Crusaders teammate Richie Mo'unga scored a late try to win the game.

The 2018 end-of-season tour was mixed for Read. He was still not fully recovered from his injury. Read was praised for his games against Australia and England. However, the All Blacks lost to Ireland, 9–16, on 17 November 2018. Read was criticized by the media for his performance in that loss. But he finished the year by captaining the All Blacks to a 66–3 win over Italy. Read equaled the record of former teammate Tony Woodcock. He became the third-most-capped All Black in history.

Final Season in 2019

Before the 2020 Super Rugby season began, Read said he would not play for New Zealand Rugby anymore. This would happen after the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.

Read missed a test against Argentina during the 2019 Rugby Championship. After that, he captained New Zealand in all four remaining warm-up tests before the World Cup. This included a draw against South Africa. They also kept the Bledisloe Cup. They had a 92–7 win over Tonga, where Read scored his 26th and final try.

On 28 August, All Blacks Head Coach, Steve Hansen, named Read as captain. He was part of the 31 players in New Zealand's squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup. This was Read's third World Cup. Sam Whitelock and Sonny Bill Williams also attended their third World Cup. Read played well in the pool stage games. He led New Zealand to the quarter-finals, where they beat Ireland 46–14.

Read remained captain for the World Cup semi-final against England. The game took place on 26 October, which was Read's 34th birthday. The All Blacks lost to England 7–19. This was New Zealand's first Rugby World Cup loss since 2007. This loss also meant New Zealand lost its number-one ranking in World Rugby. "It's not what we came for," Read said after the loss. Read later said he played in the semi-final even with a torn calf muscle.

New Zealand recovered from the loss to England. They finished the World Cup in third place, beating Wales 40–17. Read had signed to play for Toyota Verblitz in Japan before the World Cup. So, the Bronze Final was his last game for New Zealand. Read was one of five New Zealand players to retire from international rugby after the World Cup. He finished his international career as the third-most-capped All Black ever. He is also the tenth overall most-capped player. Read also captained the All Blacks the second-most times ever, after Richie McCaw. Read also led the pre-match haka before the game.

List of International Tries

Updated: 5 December 2018 Source: [1]

Kieran Read's Awards and Achievements

Super Rugby Success

• Played 100 Super Rugby games (Super Rugby Centurion)
• Won the Super Rugby title in 2008, 2017, 2018, and 2019

Individual Awards

• New Zealand Rugby Player of the Year
  • Won in 2010 and 2013
• World Rugby Player of the Year
  • Won in 2013
• Played 100 Test matches (Test Rugby Centurion)
• All Black Captain from 2013 to 2019
• Started 100 Test matches as 'number 8'

In the 2020 Queen's Birthday Honours, Read was given a special award. He was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his great service to rugby.

International Team Honours

Source: [2] Source: [3]

See also

In Spanish: Kieran Read para niños