Charles Riechelmann (RICK-le-man, born 26 April 1972) is a former professional

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 ...

player who 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 ...

. He played for

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 ...

provincially 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 ...

in the Super Rugby competition. He was part of the Blues' title-winning teams in 1996 and 1997. Although he was born in

Nukuʻalofa Nukualofa ( , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Tonga. It is located on the north coast of the island of Tongatapu, in the country's southernmost island group. History First western records of Nukualofa On 10 June 1777, British ...

, Tonga, he played 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 ...

at international level, making him the first Tongan-born All Black. He played six test matches (in all cases as a reserve) for New Zealand in 1997, scoring three tries. In 2020 and 2021/22, he completed two seasons of ''Match Fit'' with Classic All Blacks. He was one of the most flexible members in the group in season 2.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Riechelmann, Charles Living people New Zealand international rugby union players New Zealand rugby union players Blues (Super Rugby) players 1969 births Tongan emigrants to New Zealand People educated at Auckland Grammar School Rugby union locks Auckland rugby union players