Sean Maitland

Sean Daniel Maitland (born 14 September 1988) is a New Zealand born Scottish rugby union player. He plays for Glasgow Warriors in the RaboDirect PRO12, with whom he is contracted until the end of the 2014-15 season.^[1] He previously played for Crusaders in Super Rugby and Canterbury in the ITM Cup.

Early life

Sean Maitland was born in Tokoroa, New Zealand on 14 September 1988. Sean attended Hamilton Boys' High School where he played in the first XV and competed in athletics, recording a personal best of 11.29 and 22.30 seconds for the 100m and 200m respectively, and threw the discus 45.47m. Sean is half Scottish and is of Samoan and Maori descent from his mothers side. He is the cousin of New Zealand born, Australian Rugby Union Player Quade Cooper.^[2]

Rugby career

Maitland spent 2005 and 2006 in the New Zealand Schools team and was a member of New Zealand U19 World Cup winning side in 2007 and the New Zealand Under 20's side in 2008 winning the IRB Junior World Championship. Sean scored four tries against teams from Argentina, Ireland and Wales. Maitland debuted for Canterbury in 2006, and made his Super Rugby debut for the Crusaders against the ACT Brumbies in 2008 and played in every Crusaders match that year. In 2010, he was selected for the New Zealand Maori. On 11 March 2011 he scored 4 tries in a game against the Brumbies, equaling the record for the most tries scored in a Super Rugby match.^[3]

On April 30, 2013, Maitland was announced in the British and Irish Lions squad for the tour of Australia later that year. The tour marked a possible first encounter with cousin Quade Cooper in the test arena, having played one another before at Super Rugby level. The two never met in-game as Cooper was controversially left out of the extended Wallaby squad for the series, and Maitland never took to the field in the one test that he was on the bench. Maitland was not selected in the team to play the Queensland Reds mid-week game, in which Cooper captained the Reds for the first time.

In November 2013 Maitland and three other Scottish rugby players were charged with assault following an incident outside a Glasgow takeaway shop in August.^[4]

Scottish grandparents and other relatives

Maitland qualifies for Scotland by his Glaswegian grandparents who emigrated to New Zealand in the 60s. Maitland said "My granddad always reminded me that I was part Scottish and that I should never forget that."^[5]

On his maternal grandfather's side, Sean is also closely related to 'Smoking Joe' Stanley of New Zealand All Black fame in the mid 1980s–1990 on his Samoan side.^{[citation needed]}

Cleo Magazine

In 2009, Maitland was a finalist in the Cleo New Zealand Bachelor of the Year competition.^[6]

References