Liam James Coltman (born 25 January 1990) is a New Zealand

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

player who plays as a

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for in New Zealand's domestic National Provincial Championship (NPC) and the in the international

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 previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

competition. Coltman has also previously captained Otago in the NPC, and has played eight tests for the

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 198 ...

, New Zealand's international rugby team, since his debut in 2016.

Early career

Born and raised in New Plymouth on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island, Coltman was educated at Francis Douglas Memorial College in his hometown, where he played first XV rugby. Coltman's All Black teammate Beauden Barrett was also his teammate in their first XV. During his high school years, he represented his local province, at under-16 and under-18 level. After graduating high school, he moved south to

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

to attend 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 u ...

and while there he began playing for Alhambra Union in Dunedin's Premier club rugby competition as well as turning out for 's under-18, under-19 and academy sides.

Senior career

Coltman first played provincial rugby for Otago during the

2010 ITM Cup The 2010 ITM Cup season was the fifth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on July 29, when Taranaki hosted Northland. It involved the top fourteen rugby unio ...

, debuting in a match away to and making six appearances during what was a dismal year for the Razorbacks in which they finished 14th and last on the log to consign themselves to the Championship division in the newly formatted 2011 ITM Cup. Aged just 21 in 2011, he began to establish himself as Otago's first choice in the number 2 jersey, playing in all 10 regular season games, including 6 starts as the men from Dunedin finished 3rd in the Championship, just missing out on the play off spots as New Zealand's domestic season was cut short to accommodate 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 International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South ...

which was taking place in the country. Otago finished 2nd on the Championship log in both

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and

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and were defeated in the final by in 2012 before going down to in the semi-finals the following year. Coltman played 22 of the Razorbacks' 23 games across the 2 seasons and this included 18 starts.

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was a difficult year for Otago, with an inexperienced side finishing 6th out of 7 teams on the log to miss out on the playoffs altogether, although they did bounce back the following year, ending up in 3rd place before being bettered by in the semi-finals, their 3rd playoff defeat in 4 years. Coltman played 18 games across the 2 seasons and scored 3 tries. He spent a large part of the 2016 Mitre 10 Cup season training with the

so was only able to feature in 4 matches for the Razorbacks as they topped the Championship log and made it all the way to the playoff final before being surprisingly defeated at home by .

Super Rugby

A member of the wider training group in 2011 and

, Coltman finally made the full squad ahead of the 2013 Super Rugby season. Serving as back up to experienced All Black, Andrew Hore, he managed an impressive 13 appearances, mainly from the replacements bench, during his first campaign of Super Rugby. This apprenticeship served him well as Hore's retirement at the end of 2013 left Coltman as the Highlanders first choice hooker for 2014 Super Rugby season and he started 11 times as his franchise reached the tournament quarter finals before being defeated 31-27 by the in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

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was an historic year for the Highlanders as they lifted their first ever Super Rugby title after a 21–14 victory over the in the final. Ash Dixon had been brought in from to provide competition for the number 2 shirt, however Coltman started 15 games to Dixon's 4 and featured in all 19 fixtures during the 'Landers maiden Super Rugby winning season. The competition between Coltman and Dixon continued through 2016 and with the Highlanders unable to hold on to their title, losing 42–30 to the in the semi-finals, Coltman only started 6 games through the year out of a total of 10 appearances. Coltman started for the Highlanders against the touring

British & Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

team on 13 June 2017, contributing heavily towards the Highlanders' narrow 23–22 win and scoring a try in the 59th minute. Coltman was replaced by

Greg Pleasants-Tate Greg Pleasants-Tate (born 12 May 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union player who has played as a hooker for Bay of Plenty, North Harbour, Auckland, Canterbury and Southland in New Zealand's domestic Mitre 10 Cup and the Blues and Highlanders in t ...

in the 67th minute.

International

Coltman was a member of the New Zealand Under-20 side which won the

2010 IRB Junior World Championship The 2010 IRB Junior World Championship was the third annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams, this competition replaced the now defunct under 19 and under 21 world championships. The event was organised by rugby's ...

held in Argentina, scoring 1 try in 5 matches. He was called up to the All Blacks squad to provide injury cover for Nathan Harris during the 2016 Rugby Championship, but didn't get any game time during the tournament as Dane Coles and Codie Taylor remained fit and in good form. However, during the 2016 end-of-year rugby union internationals, he made his debut, coming on as a 65th minute replacement for Codie Taylor in a 68–10 victory against in Rome. Coltman failed to make the field for the All Blacks during 2017, due to injury, but was re-selected for the three-test 2018 Steinlager series against France after an outstanding Super Rugby season. Coltman replaced Codie Taylor in the 71st minute of the series' final test, on 23 June 2018. Coltman did not make a mistake as the All Blacks beat France 49–14, winning the series 3–0. After a series of excellent performances throughout the 2019 Super Rugby season, Coltman overtook Nathan Harris as New Zealand's third-choice hooker. He made two appearances off the bench during the

2019 Rugby Championship Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

, with Dane Coles still struggling with injuries. On 28 August 2019, All Blacks Head Coach, Steve Hansen, named Coltman in New Zealand's 31-man squad for the

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...

. Coltman made his first-ever start for New Zealand during the pool stages, in a 63–0 win over Canada. Although Coltman didn't play in any other tests during the pool stages, he replaced Dane Coles off the bench during the 24th minute of the Bronze Final. Coltman was one of the star performers of the match, with New Zealand beating Wales 40–17 in the bronze final, claiming third place at the World Cup.

Career honours

University of Otago Hardmen New Zealand Under-20 *

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

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Highlanders *

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Super Rugby statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coltman, Liam Living people 1990 births Rugby union hookers Rugby union players from New Plymouth Otago rugby union players Highlanders (rugby union) players New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand international rugby union players People educated at Francis Douglas Memorial College University of Otago alumni Lyon OU players