Rodney So'oialo (born 3 October 1979 in

Motoʻotua Motootua is a settlement in Samoa. It is home to the Tupua Tamasese Meaʻole Hospital. References

Populated places in Samoa {{Samoa-geo-stub ...

, Samoa) is a New Zealand

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

player who recently played in Japan for the

Honda Heat Mie Honda Heat is a Japanese rugby union team based in Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan. The owner of the club is Honda Motor. (Suzuka is known for the Suzuka Circuit and the presence of car companies.) They play in the Japan Rugby League One, ...

. He is now the director of rugby and head coach at Trinity College Kandy, Sri Lanka. Previously, he had been a stalwart for the

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

in the Super Rugby competition, making 101 appearances for the franchise. He also made 62 test appearances for the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

between 2002 and 2009. His usual position is at number eight.

Career

In 2001, So'oialo played for the

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Rugby sevens team at the

Rugby World Cup Sevens Rugby World Cup Sevens (RWCS) is the quadrennial world championship of rugby sevens, a variant of rugby union. Organised by World Rugby, it currently consists of men's and women's tournaments, and is the highest level of competition in the sport ...

in Mar del Plata,

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, 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 The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...

in Manchester. He made his debut for the

on 23 November 2002, playing at no. 8 in a match against the Welsh at Millennium Stadium in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. The following year he started at no.8 for a test against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in June, and then as a reserve in a test against the

Springboks The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...

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 Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, but started at no.8 in the next game against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Telstra Dome Docklands Stadium, also currently known by naming rights sponsorship as Marvel Stadium, is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the Docklands area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Construction started in October 1997 and w ...

, 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 disrupted by injury, he was elevated to captain of the

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, o ...

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 (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in Paris. His first test in 2005 was against Fiji, scoring a try. He played against the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

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 The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

in a game covered in thick fog (see 2006 Super 14 Final). He became temporary

captain during the second test against England on 21 June 2008 when captain

Richie McCaw Richard Hugh McCaw (born 31 December 1980) is a retired New Zealand professional rugby union player. He captained the national team, the All Blacks, in 110 out of his 148 test matches, and won two Rugby World Cups. He has won the World Rugb ...

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 The 2011 Super Rugby season was the first season of the new 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition, which involved teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Including its past iterations as Super 12 and Super 14, this was the 16t ...

through injury, he signed in Japan with the

for the 2011–12 season. The Petone Rugby Club in Lower Hutt, Wellington confirmed in January 2014 that Rodney So'oialo has joined the coaching staff of the Petone premier rugby side for the 2014 season. So'oialo will take the Petone forwards alongside head coach Peter Green. Rodney has settled back into the Hutt after playing the last two seasons with the Honda Heat in Japan and is working his way through his IRB Coaching papers. He chose Petone because of its history and traditions and is very keen to see the club perform again at the high levels everyone expects of it.

Personal life

So'oialo is married to Marilyn. They have four children together. His older brother is Steven So'oialo (born 1977) who was an international rugby union player for

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

, as was his youngest brother James So'oialo. Another of his older brothers is Sam So’oialo.

References

External links

Hurricanes profile
*
2003 World Cup profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:So'oialo, Rodney 1979 births New Zealand international rugby union players Living people New Zealand rugby union players Hurricanes (rugby union) players Mie Honda Heat players Rugby union number eights New Zealand people of Samoan descent Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand Rugby sevens players at the 2002 Commonwealth Games New Zealand male rugby sevens players Commonwealth Games rugby sevens players of New Zealand Wellington rugby union players New Zealand expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in Japan New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Japan People educated at Mana College New Zealand international rugby sevens players Commonwealth Games medallists in rugby sevens