Brodie Allan Retallick (born 31 May 1991) is a New Zealand

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

footballer, who currently plays as a

lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...

for Kobelco Kobe Steelers in the

Japan Rugby League One Japan Rugby League One (), formerly known as the Top League (), is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, b ...

competition. He previously played for the Chiefs in

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...

and in New Zealand's

National Provincial Championship The National Provincial Championship may refer to: * National Provincial Championship (1976–2005), original competition before reform into 14 sides * National Provincial Championship (2006–present) The National Provincial Championship (NP ...

. Retallick made his international debut for

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

in 2012 and has been a regular starter ever since, with over 100 test caps. He was a key member of the

2015 Rugby World Cup The IRB 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was ...

-winning team, the winner of

World Rugby Player of the Year The World Rugby Men's 15s Player of the Year is an award presented annually by World Rugby at the World Rugby Awards. It is given to honour "the achievements of those involved at the highest level of the world game on the field". First presente ...

in 2014 and is the award's youngest winner to date. Retallick has earned frequent comparisons to the late former All Black lock, Sir

Colin Meads Sir Colin Earl Meads (3 June 1936 – 20 August 2017) was a New Zealand rugby union player. He played 55 test matches (133 games), most frequently in the lock forward position, for New Zealand's national team, the All Blacks, from 1957 until 1 ...

Career

Early career

Retallick played for the Hawkes Bay Magpies in the 2010 and 2011

ITM Cup ITM may stand for: Education * ITM Law School, one of the professional graduate schools of ITM University * ITM-IFM, Mumbai, India * Institut Teknologi Mara, a public university in Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia * Institute for Information, Tel ...

. He represented New Zealand under 20 in the

2011 IRB Junior World Championship The 2011 IRB Junior World Championship was the fourth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams, this competition replaced the now defunct under 19 and under 21 world championships. The event was organised by rugby' ...

. Retallick earned a contract with the Chiefs for the

2012 Super Rugby season The 2012 Super Rugby season was the second season of the Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included tea ...

and had become a regular starter for the Chiefs by the end of the season. He started in the Super Rugby Final, on 4 August that year, with the Chiefs winning against the Sharks 37–6. His debut for the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

was against

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

on 9 June 2012, during their tour of New Zealand. Retallick started on debut, in a locking combination with

Sam Whitelock Samuel Lawrence Whitelock (born 12 October 1988) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. Whitelock has played over 150 tests for New Zealand since his debut in 2010 and is the youngest New Zealander to reach 100 tests. He is the fastest ...

, a combination that has been regularly used by the All Blacks ever since Retallick's debut, which ended in a 42–10 win for New Zealand. Retallick played in every match for the All Blacks, either from the bench or starting, in the

2012 Rugby Championship The 2012 Rugby Championship was the inaugural annual rugby union series between the national rugby union teams of New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and Argentina. For sponsorship reasons, the competition was known as ''The Castle Rugby Champ ...

, playing 13 games for the national side in total for the 2012 season.

2013–2015

He started again for the Chiefs in the 2013 Final. Retallick then continued his workload for the All Blacks by playing a further 11 tests during the year, and was a regular starter for the All Blacks by the time the

2013 Rugby Championship The 2013 The Rugby Championship, Rugby Championship, known as ''The SABMiller brands#Castle brewery, Castle Rugby Championship'' in South Africa, ''The Investec Bank, Investec Rugby Championship'' in New Zealand, ''The Castrol#Products, Castrol Ed ...

had started, with Luke Romano battling with injury. He cemented his place in the side on 14 September 2013, winning the award for Man of the Match against South Africa. Retallick scored a try in the 22nd minute, which was the first of his international career, and played the full 80 minutes, as the All Blacks beat South Africa 29–15. By 2014, he was an automatic selection for the All Blacks. Retallick played in 12 tests for the All Blacks in 2014 and won the

award and the Kelvin R Tremain award for the best New Zealand-based player of the year. Retallick was selected by head coach

Steve Hansen Sir Stephen William Hansen and High Chief of Vaiala, (born 7 May 1959) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player. He is also the father of Black Ferns assistant coach, Whitney Hansen. He was the head coach of the New Zealand na ...

as one of 31 players for New Zealand's squad for the 2015 World Cup after a string of outstanding performances for the All Blacks and the Chiefs. Retallick played well during the competition, earning him a starting spot for the quarter-final against France on 17 October 2015. Retallick scored the opening try against France in the 11th minute and lasted the full 80 minutes of the quarter-final as the All Blacks beat France by a record 62–13. Retallick played the full 80 minutes of both the semi-final, a 20–18 win over South Africa, and the final on 31 October, when the All Blacks beat Australia 34–17, becoming the first team to win three Rugby World Cups.

2016–2017

Retallick was subbed off towards the end of the last Bledisloe Cup test against Australia, on 22 October 2016, in Auckland, following a concussion caused by

Dean Mumm Dean Mumm (born 5 March 1984) is an Australian former representative rugby union player. He made fifty-six appearances for the Australia national rugby union team, Wallabies. Background Dean Mumm was born in Auckland, New Zealand. Career Ama ...

elbowing him. This saw Retallick miss a test against Ireland on the end of year tour that year. The first test against Ireland in Chicago was the only test Retallick missed that year. Retallick returned to test rugby with a solid performance off the bench in the 68–10 win against Italy and returned to his starting position in the second test against Ireland in Dublin, on 19 November 2016. New Zealand beat Ireland in the second test, with a 21–9 win. Retallick was selected as one of the 33 players for the All Blacks to face Samoa and the touring

British & Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

. Retallick took over as captain of the All Blacks for the final 20 minutes of the 78-0 thrashing of Samoa, following captain Ben Smith being subbed off for debutant

Jordie Barrett Jordan Matthew Barrett (born 17 February 1997) is a New Zealand-born rugby union player who currently plays as a centre or fullback for Irish side Leinster in the United Rugby Championship. He represents New Zealand internationally. He previous ...

. Retallick was arguably the best performing New Zealander in the Lions series, dominating the Lions in all three tests of the drawn series, which finished on 8 July, with a 15-15 stalemate. Prior to being rested for a test against Argentina in Buenos Aires for the

2017 Rugby Championship The 2017 Rugby Championship was the sixth edition of the expanded annual southern hemisphere The Rugby Championship, Rugby Championship, featuring Argentina national rugby union team, Argentina, Australia national rugby union team, Australia, Sout ...

, Retallick had played every minute of every All Blacks test in 2017. Retallick did not play in 2017 again, following the previous fixture, however, which was a 57–0 win against South Africa, where he scored his fourth test try, because of personal reasons. Patrick Tuipulotu was recalled to the All Blacks following Retallick's personal issues. Rookie lock Scott Barrett became a regular starter for the All Blacks in Retallick's absence.

2018

Retallick returned to playing rugby for the Chiefs in the

2018 Super Rugby season The 2018 Super Rugby season was the 23rd season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. After two seasons in which 18 teams participate ...

and scored the first double of his Super Rugby career on 16 March 2018, returning from an eye injury, to enable a Chiefs comeback to beat the Bulls 41–28. He finished the competition with six tries (second-to-most in the Chiefs for the season). Retallick missed the 2018 series against France due to a pectoral injury. Retallick was re-selected for the All Blacks for the 2018 Rugby Championship. Retallick played his first test of 2018, on 18 August, when the All Blacks beat Australia 38–13 in Sydney. Retallick played the full 80 minutes and scored a try in the 51st minute. Retallick won the award for Man of the Match, earning him comparisons to late All Black great,

. Retallick's try against the Wallabies later went on to win him the award for IRP Try of the Year. He played three tests during the 2018 Rugby Championship, being replaced only nine minutes into the first test against Argentina, on 8 September 2018. Retallick was replaced by

, with the All Blacks winning 46–24. Retallick missed the rest of the competition due to the injury suffered against Argentina. New Zealand had Retallick back in the squad in time for the 2018 end-of-year tour, where he featured in four tests. He replaced

off the bench against Australia in the third Bledisloe Cup test, which was a win, 37–20. Retallick then displaced Scott Barrett for the tests against England and Ireland. Retallick was Man of the Match against England in a narrow 16–15 win, with England back-rower Sam Underhill denied a winning try. Although he was the best player on the field against England, Retallick was unable to play the same way the following week, on 17 November 2018. That day, Ireland beat the All Blacks, with Retallick performing poorly in their 9–16 loss. Retallick finished the season off with a better performance against Italy, where he replaced Scott Barrett off the bench in a 66–3 win.

2019

Retallick was named as the Chiefs' co-captain, alongside his injured All Blacks teammate,

Sam Cane Samuel Jordan Cane (born 13 January 1992) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays as a flanker for the Japan Rugby League One club Tokyo Sungoliath and the New Zealand national team. He is also the former Captain of the New Zealand n ...

. Although the Chiefs performed poorly throughout the season, Retallick returned from injuries to guide the team to the playoffs. Having been retained in New Zealand's squad for the

2019 Rugby Championship The 2019 Rugby Championship was the eighth edition of the annual southern hemisphere The Rugby Championship, Rugby Championship, featuring Argentina national rugby union team, Argentina, Australia national rugby union team, Australia, South Afric ...

, Retallick played two tests during the competition. Retallick scored his fifth test try against Argentina in a scrappy 20–16 win, but was subbed off against South Africa the following week, having dislocated his shoulder during the 16–16 draw. Retallick was replaced by Hurricanes loose forward, Vaea Fifita, but was not injured badly. Blues Captain, Patrick Tuipulotu, became a regular starter in Retallick's absence. On 28 August, All Blacks Head Coach,

named Retallick as one of 31 players in New Zealand's squad for the

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup () was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening matc ...

. Although still recovering from his shoulder injury, this was set to be Retallick's second World Cup. Retallick started in all four tests he played during the World Cup, including the playoffs. After New Zealand lost the semi-final to England, 7–19, Retallick went on to win Man of The Match in the Bronze Final, where they beat Wales 40–17 to claim third place.

2020–2021

On 11 June 2019, Retallick re-signed with New Zealand Rugby for another three years. His contract contained a clause that allowed him to play two seasons in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

’s

Top League Japan Rugby League One (), formerly known as the Top League (), is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by ...

. During the

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

and

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Top League seasons, he played a total of 15 games for

Kobelco Steelers The Kobelco Kobe Steelers are a Japanese rugby union team owned by Kobe Steel, and based in Kobe. They were the first ever Top League champions when the League started in the 2003-2004 season. The team rebranded as Kobelco Kobe Steelers ahead of ...

. While he was not available for the All Blacks in 2020, he was again named in the squad for the 2021 Rugby Championship and 2021 end-of-year tour.

2022

At the age of 31, Retallick became the 12th All Black to reach 100 tests. This occurred against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

on Saturday 19 November 2022. This also became a world record lock combination of 64 tests with

2023

On 8 February 2023, it was announced that Retallick would return to Kobelco Kobe Steelers in the

competition. He had signed a three-year deal with the club that is coached by his former coach

Dave Rennie Dave Rennie (born 22 November 1963) is a New Zealand and Cook Islands professional rugby union coach and former player. He will take over the Kobe Steelers as head coach for the 2023–24 season. He previously was the head coach of the Austral ...

. He finished his

career at the Chiefs having played 128 games for the franchise.

Personal life

In his free time, Retallick enjoys cruising in classic cars. Retallick married Niki Thompson, a nurse, in 2015. Together they have two daughters.

Honours

Super Rugby

Champion:

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Individual

* New Zealand Rugby Player of the Year ** Winner: 2014 *

** Winner: 2014 * IRP Try of the Year ** Winner: 2018

International

Rugby World Cup The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport. The tournament is administer ...

Webb Ellis Cup The Webb Ellis Cup is the trophy awarded to the winner of the men's Rugby World Cup, the premier competition in men's international rugby union. The Cup is named after William Webb Ellis, who is often credited as being the inventor of rugby foot ...

**Winners:

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

**Runner-Up:

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

**3rd Place:

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

* Tri Nations/

The Rugby Championship The Rugby Championship, formerly known as the Tri Nations Series (1996–2011), is an international rugby union competition contested annually by Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. These are traditionally the four highest ran ...

**Winners:

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Bledisloe Cup The Bledisloe Cup is an annual rugby union competition between the national teams of Australia's Wallabies and New Zealand's All Blacks that has been contested since the 1930s. The frequency that the competition is held has varied, as has the n ...

**Winners: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023 *

Dave Gallaher Trophy The Dave Gallaher Trophy is a rugby union perpetual trophy contested between and . It is named after Dave Gallaher, the 1905–06 All Black captain who was killed in Belgium during World War I. History When it comes to rugby, France and New ...

**Winners: 2013 (2x), 2016 * Freedom Cup **Winners: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023 * Hillary Shield **Winners: 2013, 2014 (2x), 2018, 2022 *

series **Winners:

''(drawn series – shared title)'' *

World Rugby Team of the Year The World Rugby Team of the Year is awarded by the World Rugby in the spring each year. From 2004 to 2007, the award was called the IRB International Team of the Year. In 2017 the New Zealand Black Ferns became the first women's team to win the awa ...

(New Zealand) **Winners: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 * Laureus Team of the Year (New Zealand) **Winners: 2016

References

External links

* *
NZ Rugby History profile
Chiefs (Archived)
Brodie Retallick Profile
RugbyFix (Archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:Retallick, Brodie 1991 births Living people Bay of Plenty rugby union players Chiefs (Super Rugby) players Hawke's Bay rugby union players Kobelco Kobe Steelers players New Zealand international rugby union players New Zealand rugby union players People educated at Christchurch Boys' High School Rugby union locks Rugby union players from Rangiora World Rugby Players of the Year 2015 Rugby World Cup players 2019 Rugby World Cup players 2023 Rugby World Cup players New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in Japan