Anthony Frank Boric (born 27 December 1983 in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

) is a former

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 represented the

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 international rugby, and was a member of the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup, was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The World Rugby, International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japa ...

winning All Blacks squad. He played 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 ...

Early and personal life

Boric is a second-generation New Zealander of

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

n descent. His grandfather, from whom Boric acquired his middle name, hailed from the

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

region. He attended school at

Rosmini College Rosmini College is a state integrated Catholic School, Catholic secondary school for boys, situated in Takapuna, Auckland, New Zealand. The proprietor of the school is Roman Catholic Diocese of Auckland, the Bishop of Auckland. The school cater ...

Takapuna Takapuna is a suburb located on the North Shore, New Zealand, North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. The suburb is an isthmus between Shoal Bay, New Zealand, Shoal Bay, arm of the Waitematā Harbour, and the Hauraki Gulf. Lake Pupuke, a volca ...

where he played first XV rugby. Boric then studied Civil Engineering at the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

,Alumni and friends
alumni.auckland.ac.nz and in 2008, the final year of his degree, received news of his inclusion in the All Black squad when he heard his name read out on the radio.

Rugby career

Boric started playing rugby on the wing, but as he grew rapidly in his teenage years he switched into the second row, and also played as a loose forward. In his early days at North Harbour and the

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

, Boric alternated between the role of lock and blindside flank before deciding to concentrate on the former position. After making his first appearance as an

All Black 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 ...

coming on as a substitute against England on 13 June 2008, Boric's first match as part of the starting line-up was against the

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

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

, replacing the suspended Brad Thorn. Boric scored his first Test try versus Scotland on 8 November 2008 Boric played his last Test match for the

side during the winning

campaign. He played 4 matches during the tournament, all of which were from the reserve bench.

Nowadays

Boric can now be seen commonly visiting the Golf Warehouse in Takapuna to consistently hit balls over the back net. His large stature frightens the smaller Golf Warehouse employees such as Mr. Edward Henning and Mr. Alex Benton, especially now that he has ballooned out from his once prime state.

References

External links

*
Blues Profile

North Harbour Profile

Super Rugby Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boric, Anthony 1983 births Living people Blues (Super Rugby) players New Zealand rugby union players North Harbour rugby union players Rugby union locks New Zealand international rugby union players New Zealand people of Croatian descent People educated at Rosmini College Rugby union players from Auckland New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in Japan Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars players University of Auckland alumni 2011 Rugby World Cup players