Adam Thomson (rugby player)
Encyclopedia
Adam Thomson is a New Zealand
Rugby union
player who plays provincial rugby for Otago
, and plays for the Highlanders Super 14
team. He plays mainly in the number 6 Jersey on the blind side of the scrum. He has been selected for the 2008 All Blacks
to play England
and Ireland
, and made his All Blacks debut against Ireland as a replacement for Rodney So'oialo
on 7 June 2008. He is known by fans as the "wooly mammoth" due to his size and hair. He is also known as "Blond Cena" due to his interest in wrestling and his celebration of "You can't see me", a signature taunt/gimmick by John Cena
.
matches for the Highlanders in 2006, playing all three from the bench. He was not selected for the Highlanders in 2007 despite having a good season with Otago in the Air New Zealand Cup
. Thomson was recalled in 2008, where he played in twelve matches. At the start of the season he was just a substitute, but he played so well that midway through the Super 14
he was their top choice flanker. Thomson scored five tries in the 2008 Super 14
, one came in the triumph over the Crusaders.
of South Africa and Mauro Bergamasco
Italia, Thomson was selected for the Iveco test series in June 2008. He made his debut off the bench against Ireland when he replaced Rodney So'oialo
. He then started in the second test against England. He played very well for the All Blacks during these tests thus selected in the Tri-Nations squad. He has also started the 2009 All Black season at openside flanker filling in for incumbent captain Richie McCaw, before breaking his thumb 30minutes into the game. Thomson was side-lined for the better half of the season before making his comeback against Australia in the final Tri-Nations match, playing at blindside flanker, forming a formidable loose trio that dominated the Australians.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
Rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
player who plays provincial rugby for Otago
Otago Rugby Football Union
The Otago Rugby Football Union is the official governing body of rugby union for the Otago Region of New Zealand. The union is based in the city of Dunedin, and its home ground is Forsyth Barr Stadium. The top representative team competes in the ITM Cup, New Zealand's top provincial...
, and plays for the Highlanders Super 14
Super 14
Super Rugby is the largest and pre-eminent professional Rugby union competition in the Southern Hemisphere...
team. He plays mainly in the number 6 Jersey on the blind side of the scrum. He has been selected for the 2008 All Blacks
All Blacks
The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
to play England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
and Ireland
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
, and made his All Blacks debut against Ireland as a replacement for Rodney So'oialo
Rodney So'oialo
Rodney So'oialo is a New Zealand rugby union player currently playing in Japan for the Honda Heat. Previously, he had been a stalwart for the Hurricanes in the Super Rugby competition, making 101 appearances for the franchise. He also made 62 test appearances for the All Blacks between 2002 and 2009...
on 7 June 2008. He is known by fans as the "wooly mammoth" due to his size and hair. He is also known as "Blond Cena" due to his interest in wrestling and his celebration of "You can't see me", a signature taunt/gimmick by John Cena
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
.
Otago
Thomson made his debut for Otago on 17 September 2004 when he started against Waikato. Thomson played four matches in 2004, and started in all of them. Although Thomson did not get the feeling of winning for Otago, he came close when they narrowly lost to Auckland 35–33. The 2005 season with Otago was better in ways for Thomson, playing in five matches, but only starting once. He did enjoy some wins though, one of which came against Wellington. 2006 saw Thomson move to number 8 where he played five matches and enjoyed more wins, like the 56–21 win over North Harbour (Thomson scored one try). Thomson scored another try in 2006 against Southland. In 2007 Thomson moved back to flanker and played nine matches(started all 9), and scored three tries in a season that saw Otago only just winning matches, and going down heavily to the likes of Wellington 68–7 and Canterbury 44–6.Highlanders
Thomson played in three Super 14Super 14
Super Rugby is the largest and pre-eminent professional Rugby union competition in the Southern Hemisphere...
matches for the Highlanders in 2006, playing all three from the bench. He was not selected for the Highlanders in 2007 despite having a good season with Otago in the Air New Zealand Cup
Air New Zealand Cup
The ITM Cup is New Zealand's annual professional domestic Rugby union competition, taking place from late July through October . It was founded in 2006 with 14 teams, after the National Provincial Championship was split into two separate competitions. The other 12 provincial teams from the NPC...
. Thomson was recalled in 2008, where he played in twelve matches. At the start of the season he was just a substitute, but he played so well that midway through the Super 14
Super 14
Super Rugby is the largest and pre-eminent professional Rugby union competition in the Southern Hemisphere...
he was their top choice flanker. Thomson scored five tries in the 2008 Super 14
Super 14
Super Rugby is the largest and pre-eminent professional Rugby union competition in the Southern Hemisphere...
, one came in the triumph over the Crusaders.
All Blacks
Regarded as the fastest Allblack over 40m in 2009 and one of the quickest forwards in world rugby alongside Pierre SpiesPierre Spies
Pierre Johan Spies is a South African rugby union player. His usual position is number 8 , where he plays for the Vodacom Bulls in the international Super 14 competition. He has represented the Springboks since 2006.He made his debut for the Blue Bulls in 2005 in a match against the Griquas...
of South Africa and Mauro Bergamasco
Mauro Bergamasco
Mauro Bergamasco is an Italian rugby union footballer. He predominantly plays as an open-side flanker, although his versatility means has also played a number of international games on the wing, and started at scrum-half in an infamously error-prone performance...
Italia, Thomson was selected for the Iveco test series in June 2008. He made his debut off the bench against Ireland when he replaced Rodney So'oialo
Rodney So'oialo
Rodney So'oialo is a New Zealand rugby union player currently playing in Japan for the Honda Heat. Previously, he had been a stalwart for the Hurricanes in the Super Rugby competition, making 101 appearances for the franchise. He also made 62 test appearances for the All Blacks between 2002 and 2009...
. He then started in the second test against England. He played very well for the All Blacks during these tests thus selected in the Tri-Nations squad. He has also started the 2009 All Black season at openside flanker filling in for incumbent captain Richie McCaw, before breaking his thumb 30minutes into the game. Thomson was side-lined for the better half of the season before making his comeback against Australia in the final Tri-Nations match, playing at blindside flanker, forming a formidable loose trio that dominated the Australians.
New Zealand Rep Teams
- New Zealand Secondary Schools: Thomson played for New Zealand Secondary Schools in 2000
- New Zealand Under 19: Thomson played for New Zealand Under 19 in 2001
- New Zealand Under 21: Thomson played for New Zealand Under 21 in 2003
- New Zealand Sevens : Thomson played for New Zealand Sevens in 2007