Geoffrey Cridge (born 6 February 1995) 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 ...

player, 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 ...

or loose forward for in New Zealand's domestic

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 ...

and

Green Rockets Tokatsu NEC Green Rockets Tokatsu (formerly NEC Green Rockets) is a Japanese rugby union team in the Japan Rugby League One. The team's captain is Ryota Asano. The previous captain was Takuro Miuchi, who was also the captain of the Japan national rugby ...

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 ...

. He previously played for the and the 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 ...

as well as for in the French

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also ...

Early career

Born and raised in the city of

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, Cridge was educated at the prestigious

Christchurch Boys' High School Christchurch Boys' High School, often referred to as CBHS, is a single sex state secondary school in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is situated on a site between the suburbs of Riccarton, New Zealand, Riccarton and Fendalton, to the west of ce ...

where he played first XV rugby for 2 years. During his high school years, he also represented at under-15, under-16 and under-18 level before heading north to after graduation to start playing club rugby for Hastings.

Senior career

After initially being a member of the development and under-20 sides, Cridge graduated to the senior team to make one appearance during the

2014 ITM Cup The 2014 ITM Cup season was the ninth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on August 14, when Taranaki (National Provincial Championship), Taranaki hosted Count ...

. Injury ruled him out of the Magpies promotion winning season of

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 ...

, but he bounced back in

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 ...

to claim a place as a regular in the starting XV. Helped out by an injury to established lock Michael Allardice, Cridge stepped up to partner Hurricanes team-mate Mark Abbott in the Magpies second row. He played all 10 of Hawke's Bay's games during the 2016 season and contributed 2 tries. During the following seasons, Cridge cemented himself in the Magpies' starting line-up. During the

2020 Mitre 10 Cup The 2020 Mitre 10 Cup season was the 15th season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on September 11, when North Harbour (National Provincial Championship), North Har ...

season, the Magpies won the

Ranfurly Shield The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Shield is based on a challenge system. The holding union must defend the shield in challenge ...

(taking it off ), were successful in three more Ranfurly Shield defences (against , and ), and won the Mitre 10 Cup Championship, thus securing a well-deserved promotion to the Premiership division. The Magpies held on to the Shield during the entire

2021 Bunnings NPC The 2021 Bunnings NPC season was the 16th season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on August 6, when Manawatu hosted Counties Manukau. It involved the top 14 rugb ...

season, winning all six Ranfurly Shield defences. After a one-year absence, during which he played for French

club , Cridge returned to Hawke's Bay to play for the Magpies in the

2023 Bunnings NPC The 2023 Bunnings NPC season was the 18th season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition, the National Provincial Championship, since it turned professional in 2006. It involved the top fourteen provincial rugby unions of New Zealand ...

Super Rugby

Cridge spent time with the

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

-based as part of their apprenticeship program in 2014 and made such a good impression that after only 1 domestic appearance for Hawke's Bay, new franchise head-coach Chris Boyd handed him a 3-year contract ahead of the

2015 Super Rugby season The 2015 Super Rugby season was the 20th season of Super Rugby and the fifth season featuring an expanded 15-team format. For sponsorship reasons, this competition was known as Asteron Life Super Rugby in Australia, Investec Super Rugby in New ...

. Unsurprisingly, given his lack of experience and the amount of talent on the Hurricanes books, he didn't make any senior appearances through 2015. He did manage to get on the field for his Super Rugby debut in

, as a substitute in a 42–20 win over South African side on 25 March 2016. It would prove to be his only appearance of the campaign, but his team were in great form during the year and with

Michael Fatialofa Michael Fatialofa (born 14 September 1992) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a lock for Worcester Warriors in the Premiership. Early career Born in Auckland, Fatialofa was educated at Mount Albert Grammar School in h ...

and

Vaea Fifita Vaea Tangitau Lapota Fifita (born 17 June 1992) is a Tongan professional rugby union player who plays as a flanker for United Rugby Championship club Scarlets and the Tonga national team. Early life Born and raised on the Tongan island of ...

nailing down the two second row jerseys, it was hard for the youngster to break into a side that went on to be crowned Super Rugby champions following a 20–3 victory over the in the final. Despite several strong seasons for in the following years, Cridge had to wait until 2022 for a new

contract. While not announced in their original squad, he was announced as a reinforcement of the squad for the

2022 Super Rugby Pacific season The 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season (known as Harvey Norman Super Rugby Pacific in Australia and DHL Super Rugby Pacific in New Zealand) is the 27th season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams f ...

on 21 January 2022. He made his debut for the Waratahs on 18 February 2022 in their round 1 game against

Fijian Drua The Fijian Drua (currently known as the Swire Shipping Fijian Drua for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby union team based in Fiji that competes in the Super Rugby. The team was created by the Fiji Rugby Union and launched in August ...

Move to France

On 22 June 2022, it was announced that Cridge had signed with 2021–22 Pro D2 champions for two seasons. He made his

debut for the French club on 1 October 2022 against and played his first

EPCR Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...

game for the side on 11 December 2022 against

Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby c ...

. Cridge went on to play only 9 games for the club. At the end of the season, he was released one year early from his contract and he returned to .

Japan

On 2 February 2025, Japanese club

announced that Cridge had joined the club. He made his debut for the club that same day. He left the club at the end of the season.

International career

Cridge was a member of the New Zealand Under-20 sides that competed in the

2014 IRB Junior World Championship The 2014 IRB Junior World Championship was the seventh annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. The event was organised in Auckland, New Zealand by rugby's governing body, World Rugby, then known as the Internatio ...

in his home country and the

2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship The 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship was the eighth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. The event was organised for the second time in Italy by rugby's governing body, World Rugby. Twelve nations played i ...

in Italy. He played four times as New Zealand finished 3rd in 2014 and then scored a try in his only appearance in the title-winning side of 2015.

Career Honours

New Zealand Under-20 *

World Rugby Under 20 Championship The World Rugby Under 20 Championship (known as the IRB Junior World Championship until 2014) is an annual international rugby union competition. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, World Rugby, and is contested by 12 men's juni ...

Hurricanes *

Hawke's Bay Magpies * ITM Cup Championship -

* Mitre 10 Cup Championship -

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 ...

Super Rugby Statistics

References

External links

NZ Rugby History profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cridge, Geoff 1995 births Living people People educated at Christchurch Boys' High School New Zealand rugby union players Rugby union players from Christchurch Rugby union locks Hawke's Bay rugby union players Hurricanes (rugby union) players New South Wales Waratahs players Aviron Bayonnais players New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in France Green Rockets Tokatsu players