56 Facts About Kieran Read

Kieran James Read was born on 26 October 1985 and is a New Zealand former rugby union player.

Kieran Read played as a number 8 and is a former captain of the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks.

Kieran Read is one of the most-capped players of all time, and the forth-most-capped All Black in history, having played 128 tests, scoring 26 international tries.

Kieran Read was the IRB Player of the Year in 2013 and a key member of New Zealand's 2011 and 2015 World Cup-winning teams, becoming one of only 20 players to have won multiple Rugby World Cups.

Kieran Read played his childhood rugby in the small town of Drury in the Counties Manukau region, just south of Auckland.

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Kieran Read attended Opaheke Primary where his mother taught and Rosehill College, with a one-year interlude at Saint Kentigern College in 2000.

Kieran Read excelled in all aspects of school life, but especially on the sports field.

Kieran Read gained excellent marks through to the end of seventh form.

Kieran Read was Head Boy of the 2000-student Rosehill College, as well as Sportsman of the Year and Sports All-rounder of the Year.

Kieran Read was a talented cricketer, representing Northern District age-group teams and being selected for the New Zealand Under-17 tournament side in 2002.

Kieran Read played his first National Provincial Championship game in 2006, his second year out of college.

Kieran Read played for the Crusaders in the Super 14 in 2007 as a blindside flanker.

Kieran Read moved to number 8 during the 2008 season, culminating in the squad winning the Super Rugby title.

Kieran Read first captained the side in 2011, standing in for an injured Richie McCaw.

In 2012, Kieran Read led the team for their first 10 matches while McCaw was rested.

In 2013, another extended rest for McCaw saw Kieran Read named captain, although he missed six consecutive games with a toe injury.

Kieran Read was relieved of captaincy when new coach Scott Robertson took over for the 2017 season, with Kieran Read missing the first half of the season due to wrist surgery.

Kieran Read scored 6 tries for the Crusaders that year, including two doubles.

Kieran Read missed many Super Rugby games again in the 2018 Super Rugby season, struggling with injury.

Kieran Read returned to professional rugby from injury following the Steinlager series against France.

Kieran Read started at blindside flanker and played the full 80 minutes that match.

Kieran Read came off the bench for another three fixtures on the tour.

Kieran Read started in tandem with Jerome Kaino as blindside flanker- this was a combination the All Blacks would continue to use for the better part of a decade.

Kieran Read started another seven times in 2009 and became the All Blacks' first-choice number 8 that year, displacing the now retired 62-test veteran and former stand-in captain Rodney So'oialo from the starting team.

Kieran Read carried a heavy workload that year and started in all 14 tests for the All Blacks in 2010, being one of only two players to do so, with captain Richie McCaw playing in all 14 tests.

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Kieran Read was the second-to-highest try-scoring All Black in 2010 and, second only to fullback Mils Muliaina who scored 7 tries in 2010.

Kieran Read scored another 5 tries in 2010, scoring tries in wins against South Africa, Australia and England.

Kieran Read was named New Zealand Rugby Player of the Year, being chosen over Richie McCaw who was named World Rugby's Player of the Year for the third time and second year running.

Kieran Read was named in the All Blacks' 30-man squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, which was hosted by New Zealand.

Kieran Read played in four of the team's seven matches – the pool game against Canada, the quarter-final against Argentina, the semi-final against Australia, and the final against France.

Kieran Read had another big year for the All Blacks in 2012 and played 12 tests that year.

On 15 June 2013, Kieran Read captained the team for the third time in his 50th test, which coincided with All Blacks' 500th test match, in the second game of the series between New Zealand and France at AMI Stadium.

Kieran Read captained the All Blacks another three times in the year, scoring two tries against South Africa in the first 20 minutes of the game, but missed out on the chance to score a third after being yellow-carded with six minutes to go.

Kieran Read won the 2013 IRB Player of the Year title after playing in 13 of the 14 All Black tests that year, becoming the third New Zealander to win the award after team mates Dan Carter and Richie McCaw.

Kieran Read was not subbed off all year, only missing 20 minutes of the 13 tests he played due to yellow cards against South Africa and England.

Kieran Read missed the first two tests of 2014 due to concussion, with Jerome Kaino starting at number 8 in his absence.

Kieran Read only played for 40 minutes against England, with Liam Messam replacing him at half-time.

On 17 June 2015, against Argentina at Christchurch, Kieran Read scored his 18th try and moved past former All Black Zinzan Brooke as the most prolific try-scoring New Zealand Number 8 at test level.

Kieran Read played in all seven All Blacks matches in the 2015 Rugby World Cup, which was held in England and ultimately won by New Zealand.

In 2016, Kieran Read was promoted to Captain of the All Blacks, succeeding the long-serving McCaw who announced his retirement at the end of the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

Kieran Read carried a heavy workload in 2016, starting as captain in every test but one.

Kieran Read was only subbed off once that year, being replaced with four minutes to go in the second test against Argentina by Highlanders flanker Elliot Dixon.

Kieran Read continued as captain of the All Blacks for the rest of 2017, scoring two tries in the second test against Argentina on 1 October 2017, bringing his career tally to 23 after being set up for his first try by Waisake Naholo and set up by newcomer Damian McKenzie for a second.

Kieran Read did not play in the All Blacks' three-test series against France during June 2018, having only recovered from injury in May The All Blacks were captained by Sam Whitelock in Kieran Read's absence, with Ben Smith and Sam Cane as Vice-Captains.

Kieran Read returned to Super Rugby following the end of the French tour, having made his debut for Counties Manukau the week after the series finished.

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Kieran Read made a full recovery from injury and started for the Crusaders in all three playoff matches of the 2018 Super Rugby season, including the final on 4 August 2018.

Kieran Read played a big part in the Crusaders' victorious effort in the final and had returned to peak form in time.

Kieran Read returned to international rugby as All Black captain for the 2018 Rugby Championship, with Sam Whitelock stepping down from Captaincy.

Kieran Read was replaced in the 58th minute of round three by Luke Whitelock.

Kieran Read stayed composed until the end of the game, which could have been a late win but for Beauden Barrett's goal-kicking.

Kieran Read was one of the poorer performing players on the field in the loss to Ireland, earning him criticism from the media.

Kieran Read equalled the record of former teammate Tony Woodcock, for the third-to-most capped All Black in history during the victory over Italy, and is set to overtake Woodcock in 2019.

Kieran Read was retained as Captain for the semi-final of the World Cup, against England.

Kieran Read was one of five New Zealanders to retire from international rugby following the World Cup, with his Crusaders teammates, Ryan Crotty and Matt Todd, as well as Sonny Bill Williams and fellow former All Black Captain, Ben Smith retiring as well.

Kieran Read finished his international career as the third-to-most capped All Black of all-time, as well as the tenth overall.

Kieran Read finished having Captained the All Blacks the second-most ever, behind Richie McCaw.