James Rodley, is a 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.

Rugby career

Rodley started playing rugby at the age of five for the East Coast Bays rugby club. The move to the Marist Rugby club in 2006 saw his rugby career take off. Rodley was selected as the second halfback/scrumhalf for the North Harbour NPC Air New Zealand Cup team in 2006, but it wasn't long before he was the starting halfback. The North Harbour Rugby Union

North Harbour Rugby Union

The North Harbour Rugby Union , commonly referred to colloquially as North Harbour or simply Harbour, is a provincial rugby team which competes in the ITM Cup , the successor to the country's former domestic competition, the National Provincial Championship .-Area:Harbour Rugby encompasses a...

 NPC team won the Ranfurly Shield

Ranfurly Shield

The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Ranfurly Shield is based on a challenge system, rather than a league or knockout competition as with most football trophies...

 in 2006 for the first time in North Harbours history against Canterbury. Rodley was named Rookie of the year 2006.

In early 2007, Rodley participated in a competition with all the Marist clubs from around New Zealand. The North Shore Marist team Rodley plays for won the competition, and rodley was named Marists most valuable player.

May 2007 saw Rodley get selected to go to England to play in the 2007 Churchill Cup

2007 Churchill Cup

The 2007 Churchill Cup was held from May 18 to June 2, 2007. It was the fifth year of the Churchill Cup. Six rugby union teams took part: Canada, England Saxons, Ireland A, New Zealand Māori, Scotland A, and the USA.-Format:...

 for the New Zealand Māori rugby union team

New Zealand Maori rugby union team

New Zealand Māori is a rugby union team that traditionally plays teams touring New Zealand. A prerequisite for playing in this team is that the player is to have Māori whakapapa or genealogy. In the past this rule was not strictly applied. In the past non-Māori players who looked Māori were often...

. This came after the second halfback, Brendan Haami, injured himself in practice.