Taine Randell facts for kids
| Birth name | Taine Cheyenne Randell | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 5 November 1974 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Hastings, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 110 kg (17 st 5 lb; 243 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Lindisfarne College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Taine Randell (born 5 November 1974) is a famous retired rugby union player from New Zealand. He was a very flexible player, known as a loose forward. Taine also had the special role of captaining the All Blacks, New Zealand's national rugby team, from 1996 to 1999.
He played 51 test matches for the All Blacks. Out of these, he was captain for 22 games. Taine also led the Otago team in the National Provincial Championship when he was just 19 years old. He scored 12 tries for the All Blacks, earning a total of 60 points.
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Taine Randell's Early Rugby Journey
Taine Randell was excellent at rugby, cricket, and his schoolwork. He attended Lindisfarne College near Hastings. He played for the school's top rugby team, the First XV, starting when he was only 14.
In 1992, Taine went to the University of Otago. There, he studied both law and commerce. He played rugby for the University of Otago and Dunedin Metropolitan Colts. When he was 17, the Otago coach, Gordon Hunter, chose him to play for the Otago team.
Becoming Otago's Youngest Captain
In 1993, Taine made history by becoming the youngest player ever to captain Otago. He was only 19 years and 152 days old. The next year, in 1994, he moved to the Dunedin Rugby Football Club. He was then chosen to be the captain of the New Zealand Colts team.
In 1996, Taine joined the Otago Highlanders. This was during the first season of the Super 14 competition.
Joining the All Blacks Team
Taine played his first game for the All Blacks in 1995. This match was against a team called Italy A. He was 21 when he first captained the All Blacks in South Africa in 1996. These were non-test games.
He was only 23 when he first captained the All Blacks in a test match against England in 1998. The new coach, John Hart, chose Taine to replace Sean Fitzpatrick as captain. Some people thought he was too young and didn't have enough experience for such a big role.
Leading the Highlanders to the Final
In 1999, Taine captained the Otago Highlanders. They had a great season, winning 8 out of 11 regular games. This led them to the 1999 Super 12 Final. In a very close game, they lost 24–19 to the Canterbury Crusaders. Taine was the Highlanders' captain for seven years, from 1997 to 2003.
A tough moment for Taine was during the 1999 Rugby World Cup. He led the team when they lost to France in the semi-final. After this defeat, Taine went to Florida in the United States for a month. He wanted to get away from the negative news and media attention.
After this, Todd Blackadder became the All Blacks captain. However, Taine still kept his place in the team from 2000 to 2002.
Taine Randell's Later Rugby Career
In October 2001, new coaches John Mitchell and Robbie Deans took over the All Blacks. Taine was not chosen for the team at that time. He missed all the 2002 Tri-Nations series.
However, he played very well in the 2002 Super 12 season. This good performance earned him a spot back in the All Blacks. He was even recalled to captain the team for their tour of England, France, and Wales at the end of 2002.
Final Matches as Captain
During this tour, the All Blacks won one game against Wales. This was Taine's last test match as captain. They also had a draw with France and lost to England. On this tour, Taine played his 50th test match for the All Blacks.
He continued to play for the Highlanders. But he left New Zealand before the 2003 Rugby World Cup.
Playing in England
After leaving New Zealand, Taine and his family moved to Central London. In August 2003, he signed with the English Premier League team Saracens Rugby Club. He played for them until the end of their 2005–2006 season. Even though Saracens wanted him to keep playing, he decided to retire.
Life After Rugby
After retiring from rugby, Taine started a career in finance. He worked as a successful commodity broker in London from mid-2006 until October 2008. He also became a part-owner of a restaurant called big easy on the Kings Road.
Since 2010, Taine has been a director of the Kahungunu Asset Holding Company. This company owns a part of the Fiordland Lobster Company. This company is New Zealand's largest exporter of live crayfish, sold under the KiwiLobster brand.
Taine Randell's Family Life
Taine Randell was born in Hastings, New Zealand. He is from the Ngāti Kahungunu and Waikato Tainui Māori tribes. He is married to Jo Edwards. They have two sons and one daughter. At the end of 2008, Taine and his family moved back to Havelock North, New Zealand.
See also
In Spanish: Taine Randell para niños
