Justin Warren Marshall (born 5 August 1973) is a New Zealand 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 ...

player. He played 81 games for the New Zealand

All Blacks 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 ...

between 1995 and 2005. Marshall played for the in the

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 has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...

from 1996 to 2005, winning the competition five times. He subsequently moved to Europe and had spells playing for

Leeds Tykes Leeds Tykes (formerly Leeds RUFC, Leeds Carnegie and Yorkshire Carnegie) is an English rugby union club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the National League 2 North. The club was founded as Headingley FC, but renamed in 1991 when ...

, the Ospreys,

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

and

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

. He is now a Sky Sports commentator in New Zealand for most All Blacks games and other provincial matches.

Early life

He was born in

Gore Gore may refer to: Places Australia * Gore, Queensland * Gore Creek (New South Wales) * Gore Island (Queensland) Canada * Gore, Nova Scotia, a rural community * Gore, Quebec, a township municipality * Gore Bay, Ontario, a township on Manito ...

on 5 August 1973 and educated at Gore High School, before settling in

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 ...

where he played for the High School Old Boys club.

Playing career

Marshall began his rugby union career with Southland and was then asked to join Christchurch by Canterbury coach Vance Stewart. It was whilst here that Marshall first made the break into the

side for the 1995 tour of Italy and France. Marshall was just 22 when he made his début against in a 37–12 win. In 1997 Marshall was made captain of New Zealand and led out his team in four tests in Great Britain and Ireland, becoming the All Blacks' 54th test captain. In moving to Europe, Marshall retired from international rugby with the All Blacks in 2005. He made 81 appearances for the All Blacks, with a record of 61 wins, 1 draw and just 19 defeats. Marshall is the second, behind Aaron Smith, highest capped scrum half in All Blacks history. He has scored a record 24 test tries for New Zealand, 3 more than the next best for an All Blacks scrum half, held by Aaron Smith. Marshall played for

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

in 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 (NP ...

, the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...

in the

competition. His New Zealand contract ran out after the 2005 Lions tour, and he signed to play the 2005–06 season for

in the English Premiership. Following the relegation of Leeds from the Premiership, Marshall left the club at the end of the season. On 25 April 2006 it was announced he had signed for the Welsh regional side Ospreys on a two-year contract beginning in September 2006. Before signing for Ospreys, Marshall indicated an interest in returning to New Zealand to once again be an All Black and play in the World Cup, even being prepared to play 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 ...

. On 16 July 2008 Ospreys announced that Marshall had been released from his contract early, and he signed for

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 ...

side

. On 15 January 2009 he signed for

on a contract to the end of the 2008–09 season. Throughout the 2009–10 season, whilst continuing to play for Saracens, Marshall was a

pundit A pundit is a person who offers opinion in an authoritative manner on a particular subject area (typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport), usually through the mass media. The term pundit describes both women and men, altho ...

and commentator on

BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, ...

rugby programme ''

Scrum V ''Scrum V'' (pronounced ''Scrum Five'') is the brand used by BBC Cymru Wales for its rugby union programming. The brand extends to BBC Wales' live coverage, ''Scrum V Live'', highlights and discussion programmes, radio discussion and website. T ...

''. At the end of that season, he announced the end of his playing career with a view to moving back to New Zealand to focus on his broadcasting career there. In April 2013, Marshall made an unexpected comeback, taking the field for club side Wakatipu, at the age of 39.

Commentating career

Marshall joined Sky TV New Zealand in 2010.

First-class record

Awards and achievements

Individual

In the 2005 Queen's Birthday Honours, Marshall was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ...

, for services to rugby. *1996 New Zealand National Provincial Championship Division I Player of the Year *2005 Crusaders Player of the Year *Crusaders Hall of Fame (Class of 2023)

Team

Club and domestic *1994 New Zealand National Provincial Championship Division II Champions *1994–1995

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 ...

holders *1997 New Zealand National Provincial Championship Division I Champions *1998

champions *1999 Super 12 champions *2000 Super 12 champions *2000–2003 Ranfurly Shield holders *2001 New Zealand National Provincial Championship Division I Champions *2002 Super 12 champions *2004 Ranfurly Shield holders *2004 New Zealand National Provincial Championship Division I Champions *2005 Super 12 champions *

2006–07 Celtic League The 2006–07 Celtic League (known as the 2006–07 Magners League for sponsorship reasons) was the sixth Celtic League season and the first with Magners as title sponsor. The season commenced on 1 September and was completed on 12 May. The te ...

champions * 2007–08 EDF Energy (Anglo-Welsh) Cup champions International *1996 Bledisloe Cup champions *1996 Tri Nations champions *1996 New Zealand tour of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

series winner *1997 Bledisloe Cup champions *1997 Tri-Nations champions *1999 Tri-Nations champions *

1999 Rugby World Cup The 1999 Rugby World Cup () was the fourth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial international rugby union championship. It was the first Rugby World Cup to be held in the sport's History of rugby union#The professional era, professional era. Four a ...

fourth place *2002 Tri-Nations champions *2003 Bledisloe Cup champions *2003 Tri-Nations champions *2003 Rugby World Cup third place (bronze) *2004 Bledisloe Cup champions *2005 British & Irish Lions tour of New Zealand series winner

References

Bibliography

*Gillies, Angus, ''Justin Marshall'', (New Zealand, 2005)

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marshall, Justin 1973 births Living people New Zealand international rugby union players Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand rugby union players Canterbury rugby union players Crusaders (rugby union) players Southland rugby union players Barbarian F.C. players Leeds Tykes players Montpellier Hérault Rugby players Ospreys (rugby union) players Rugby union scrum-halves People from Mataura People educated at Gore High School New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in England New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in Wales New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in France Saracens F.C. players Rugby union players from the Southland Region 1999 Rugby World Cup players 2003 Rugby World Cup players New Zealand podcasters Sports podcasters