Rodney So'oialo

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Rodney So'oialo (born 3 October 1979 in Moto'otua, Samoa) is a New Zealand rugby union player. His usual position is at number eight, where he has played for the All Blacks, he is also the captain of the Hurricanes team in the Super 14 competition.

In 2001, So'oialo played for the New Zealand 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 November 23, 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).

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Hurricanes profile
• Rodney So'oialo at AllBlacks.com
• 2003 World Cup profile
• Statistics itsrugby.co.uk