Taine Randell (born 5 November 1974) is a retired

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 coun ...

rugby union player. He was a versatile loose forward and a former

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, ...

captain. He was born in

Hastings, New Zealand Hastings (; mi, Heretaunga) is an inland city of New Zealand and is one of the two major urban areas in Hawke's Bay, on the east coast of the North Island. The population of Hastings (including Flaxmere) is (as of with a further people in ...

, and is of Ngāti Kahungunu and Waikato Tainui descent.

Summary

In his 61-game tenure as an All Black, Randell played 51 tests, including 22 as captain. He also captained Otago in the National Provincial Championship (NPC) at the age of 19. His All Black debut was versus Italy 'A' at the age of 20, and his test debut versus

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consis ...

, age 22. In his time as an All Black he scored 12 tries for a total of 60 points.

Early career

Randell excelled as a rugby player, cricketer, and student at Lindisfarne College near Hastings and represented the First XV from the age of 14. In 1992 he went to the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate ...

where he completed degrees in law and commerce. He played for the University of Otago, Dunedin Metropolitan Colts and at the age of 17 years 5 months was picked by the Otago Coach Gordon Hunter for

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

in the National Provincial Championship. In 1993 he became the youngest player ever to captain Otago at age 19 years 152 days. In 1994 he moved to the Dunedin Rugby Football Club and was chosen for the New Zealand Colts as Captain. He played for the

Otago Highlanders The Highlanders (formerly the Otago Highlanders) is a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Dunedin that compete in Super Rugby. The team was formed in 1996 to represent the lower South Island in the newly formed Super 12 competit ...

in 1996 in the opening season of the

Super 14 Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

Randell played his first game for the All Blacks in 1995 against an Italy A selection. Randell was 21 when he first captained the All Blacks in South Africa in 1996 in four non-test games and only 23 when he first captained the

vs England in 1998. Randell was selected as captain to replace Sean Fitzpatrick by new coach John Hart. At the time there was some controversy about this selection as Randell was quite young and inexperienced and it is not clear that he himself wanted to be captain. In 1999, Randell captaining the

to an 8–3 regular season record and subsequently to the 1999 Super 12 Final where they lost to the Canterbury Crusaders in a closely fought match 24–19. Randell captained the Highlanders for seven years from 1997 to 2003. Randell's low moment came during the

1999 Rugby World Cup The 1999 Rugby World Cup was the fourth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial international rugby union championship. It was principally hosted by Wales, and was won by Australia. This was the first Rugby World Cup to be held in the sport's professi ...

where he led the team during the defeat to France in the semi-final. Randell left New Zealand to spend a month in Florida in the United States to get away from the negative media spotlight. After this defeat, Todd Blackadder became captain, although Randell retained his place in the team for 2000–2002.

Later career

When John Mitchell and

Robbie Deans Robert Maxwell Deans (born 4 September 1959) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player, currently the head coach of Japanese club Panasonic Wild Knights. He was head coach of the Australian national team between 2008 and 2013. Deans ha ...

took over the coaching of the All Blacks from Wayne Smith and

Tony Gilbert Antonio C. "Tony" Gilbert (born October 16, 1979) is an American football coach and former linebacker who is the inside linebackers coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as an assista ...

in October 2001 Randell was dropped from the All Blacks. He missed all of the 2002 Tri-Nations series, but after his form in the 2002

Super 12 Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

season earned him a recall to captain the All Blacks on the end of the year tour of England, France and Wales. The tour resulted in one win against Wales (his last test as Captain), a draw with France, and a loss to England. During the tour Randell raised his test appearances past 50. He continued to play for the Highlanders, but left New Zealand before the 2003

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb ...

. Taine then left New Zealand just before the 2003 Rugby World Cup and relocated with his family to

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...

. He signed with the English Premier League Team

Saracens upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia ...

in August 2003. He retired at the end of their 2005–2006 season, despite offers from Saracens to return to play for 2006–07.

Post rugby career

Randell pursued a career in finance and was a successful commodity broker in London from mid-2006 through to October 2008. He also became a part owner in the ''big easy'' on the Kings Road. Randell since 2010 became director of the Kahungunu Asset Holding Company, including a stake in the Fiordland Lobster Company, the country's largest exporter of live crayfish, marketed under its KiwiLobster brand.Captain and the crayfish: Former All Black Taine Randell chases big money in China

Personal life

Randell is married to Jo Edwards, and they have two sons and a daughter. At the end of 2008, the family returned to

Havelock North Havelock North ( mi, Te Hemo-a-Te Atonga) is a town in the Hawke's Bay region of the North Island of New Zealand, situated less than 2 km south-east of the city of Hastings. It was a borough for many years until the 1989 reorganisation of local ...

References

External links

*
Profile at scrum.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Randell, Taine 1974 births New Zealand international rugby union players Living people Māori All Blacks players New Zealand rugby union players Ngāti Kahungunu people Highlanders (rugby union) players Rugby union flankers Rugby union number eights Saracens F.C. players University of Otago alumni People educated at Lindisfarne College, New Zealand Barbarian F.C. players Rugby union players from Hastings, New Zealand