Rodney So'oialo
Encyclopedia
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. His usual position is at number eight.
Rugby sevens
team at the Rugby World Cup Sevens
in Mar del Plata
, Argentina
, which New Zealand won. The next year he was again a member of the New Zealand sevens team, winning gold at the 2002 Commonwealth Games
in Manchester
.
He made his debut for the All Blacks
on 23 November 2002, playing at no. 8 in a match against the Welsh
at Millennium Stadium
in Cardiff
.The following year he started at no.8 for a test against England
in June, and then as a reserve in a test against the Springboks
in July. So'oialo earned four caps at the 2003 World Cup
in Australia
, scoring two tries
. He was a reserve in the game against Italy
in Melbourne
, but started at no.8 in the next game against Canada
at Telstra Dome
, scoring two tries. He played all of the All Blacks' subsequent games at the World Cup.
Although his 2004 season with the Wellington Hurricanes in the Super 12 was distrupted by injury, he was elevated to captain of the National Provincial Championship
Wellington side, which reached the final that year. He went on to be called up to the All Blacks for the end of year tests, scoring a try in the game against France
in Paris
.
His first test in 2005 was against Fiji
, scoring a try. He played against the British and Irish Lions
during their tour of New Zealand, and went on to gain another sevens caps for the All Blacks during the rest of the year. In 2006, his Super 14 team made it to the final, but were defeated by the Crusaders in a game covered in thick fog (see 2006 Super 14 Final
).
He became temporary All Blacks
captain during the second test against England on June 21, 2008 when captain Richie McCaw
had to go off the field due to breaking an ankle, So'oialo captained the All Blacks for the first four tests of the 2008 Tri-Nations season, due to Richie McCaw's injury.
He played his 100th game for the Hurricanes against the Queensland Reds on 7 May 2010, a game that was won by the Hurricanes 44–21
After missing the entire 2011 Super Rugby season through injury, he signed in Japan with the Honda Heat
for the 2011-12 season.
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 currently playing in Japan for the Honda Heat
Honda Heat
Honda Heat is a Japanese rugby union team based in Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan. The owner of the club is Honda Motor....
. Previously, he had been a stalwart for the Hurricanes
Hurricanes (Super rugby franchise)
The Hurricanes are a New Zealand professional Rugby union team based in Wellington that competes in the Super Rugby competition...
in the Super Rugby competition, making 101 appearances for the franchise. He also made 62 test appearances for the 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....
between 2002 and 2009. His usual position is at number eight.
Career
In 2001, So'oialo played for the New ZealandNew Zealand national rugby union team (sevens)
The New Zealand national rugby union sevens team is the New Zealand representative team in rugby union sevens and competes in the IRB Sevens World Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Commonwealth Games.-IRB Sevens:...
Rugby sevens
Rugby sevens
Rugby sevens, also known as seven-a-side or VIIs, is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players, instead of the usual 15, with shorter matches. Rugby sevens is administered by the International Rugby Board , the body responsible for rugby union worldwide...
team at the Rugby World Cup Sevens
2001 Rugby World Cup Sevens
The 2001 Rugby World Cup Sevens or the Melrose Cup was the 3rd edition of the tournament and held in Argentina. New Zealand defeated Australia to win the tournament for the first time. This was the first major rugby event ever held in South America....
in Mar del Plata
Mar del Plata
Mar del Plata is an Argentine city located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, south of Buenos Aires. Mar del Plata is the second largest city of Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" had apparently the sense of "sea of the Río de la Plata region" or "adjoining sea to the Río de la Plata"...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, which New Zealand won. The next year he was again a member of the New Zealand sevens team, winning gold at the 2002 Commonwealth Games
2002 Commonwealth Games
The 2002 Commonwealth Games were held in Manchester, England from 25 July to 4 August 2002. The XVII Commonwealth Games was the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in the UK, eclipsing London's 1948 Summer Olympics in numbers of teams and athletes participating.After the 1996 Manchester...
in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
.
He made his debut for the 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....
on 23 November 2002, playing at no. 8 in a match against the Welsh
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
at Millennium Stadium
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
.The following year he started at no.8 for a test against 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...
in June, and then as a reserve in a test against the Springboks
South Africa national rugby union team
The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
in July. So'oialo earned four caps at the 2003 World Cup
2003 Rugby World Cup
The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and Rugby World...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, scoring two tries
Try
A try is the major way of scoring points in rugby league and rugby union football. A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area...
. He was a reserve in the game against Italy
Italy national rugby union team
The Italy national rugby union team represent the nation of Italy in the sport of rugby union. The team is also known as the Azzurri . Italy have been playing international rugby since the late 1920s, and since 2000 compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland,...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, but started at no.8 in the next game against Canada
Canada national rugby union team
The Canada national rugby union team represents Canada in international rugby union. They are governed by Rugby Canada, and play in red and black. Canada is classified by the International Rugby Board as a tier two rugby nation. There are ten tier one nations, and seven tier two nations, the...
at Telstra Dome
Telstra Dome
Docklands Stadium is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the Docklands precinct of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...
, scoring two tries. He played all of the All Blacks' subsequent games at the World Cup.
Although his 2004 season with the Wellington Hurricanes in the Super 12 was distrupted by injury, he was elevated to captain of the National Provincial Championship
National Provincial Championship
The National Provincial Championship, or NPC, is the major domestic rugby competition in New Zealand. The NPC has seen many alterations to its format and brand. Since 2006 the National Championship has been split into 2 competitions, the ITM Cup and the Heartland Championship...
Wellington side, which reached the final that year. He went on to be called up to the All Blacks for the end of year tests, scoring a try in the game against France
France national rugby union team
The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
His first test in 2005 was against Fiji
Fiji national rugby union team
The Fiji national rugby union team is a member of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance formerly along with Samoa and Tonga. In 2009, Samoa announced their departure from the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance, leaving just Fiji and Tonga. Fiji are ranked sixteenth in the world by the IRB as of 26...
, scoring a try. He played against the British and Irish Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
during their tour of New Zealand, and went on to gain another sevens caps for the All Blacks during the rest of the year. In 2006, his Super 14 team made it to the final, but were defeated by the Crusaders in a game covered in thick fog (see 2006 Super 14 Final
2006 Super 14 Final
The Final of the 2006 Super 14 season, a rugby union competition in the Southern Hemisphere, took place on May 27, 2006 at Jade Stadium in Christchurch, New Zealand. The match was won by the Crusaders 19 points to 12 over the visiting Wellington-based side, the Hurricanes...
).
He became temporary 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....
captain during the second test against England on June 21, 2008 when captain Richie McCaw
Richie McCaw
Richard Hugh "Richie" McCaw is a New Zealand rugby union player, and is the current test captain. He plays in the openside flanker position for the New Zealand, Crusaders and Canterbury rugby teams...
had to go off the field due to breaking an ankle, So'oialo captained the All Blacks for the first four tests of the 2008 Tri-Nations season, due to Richie McCaw's injury.
He played his 100th game for the Hurricanes against the Queensland Reds on 7 May 2010, a game that was won by the Hurricanes 44–21
After missing the entire 2011 Super Rugby season through injury, he signed in Japan with the Honda Heat
Honda Heat
Honda Heat is a Japanese rugby union team based in Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan. The owner of the club is Honda Motor....
for the 2011-12 season.