Mark Gerrard (born 4 September 1982) is a former Australian 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 ...

footballer. He currently is the assistant coach for the

Austin Gilgronis The Austin Gilgronis were a professional rugby union team based in Austin, Texas, United States. The team was founded in 2017 as the Austin Elite, and competed in Major League Rugby. History On September 19, 2019, after extensive polling at the ...

Major League Rugby Major League Rugby (MLR) is a professional rugby union competition in the United States. The league comprises 11 teams. While operating outside of the governance and oversight of the national governing body, the league is officially sanctioned ...

(MLR) competition in the United States. In 2011, he was one of 10 players nominated to become the competition's

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 ...

player of the year. Gerrard has played for the Australian Wallabies and previously played for the

NSW Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), often referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team based in Sydney that represents the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby Pacific competition. The Waratahs play ...

and the ACT

Brumbies The ACT Brumbies (known from 2005 to 2022 as simply the Brumbies) is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), The team competes in Super Rugby and named for the feral horses which inh ...

. He usually plays at fullback or

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

but can also cover in the centres and sometimes

flyhalf In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16� ...

. His sister Mo'onia Gerrard is an Australian representative

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...

er. He is the cousin of Wallaby

Wycliff Palu Wycliff Palu (born 27 July 1982), known as Cliffy Palu, is an Australian former professional rugby union footballer of Tongan descent. He played for the New South Wales Waratahs in Super Rugby and represented in 58 tests. Early life Palu was ...

Biography

Gerrard was educated at both Narrabeen North Primary School and Narrabeen Sports High School, where he started playing rugby league, representing Australian School Boys in that code before switching to Rugby Union. Gerrard made the Australian Schoolboys team in 1999. Gerrard went on to play for the

Warringah Rugby Club Warringah Rugby Club is a rugby union club based in Narrabeen the Northern Beaches of Sydney, New South Wales. The club currently competes in the New South Wales Rugby Union competitions, the Shute Shield and Tooheys New Cup. Warringah Rugby ...

and represented Australia in the national under-19s side in both 2000 and 2001; also in 2001 he represented Australia in the under-21s side. After the successful appearances for junior representative sides, he made his Super 12 debut for the

New South Wales Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), often referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team based in Sydney that represents the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby Pacific competition. The Waratahs play t ...

. He continued to make the under-21 Australian side up for the next two years, before touring Japan with Australia A in 2003. He signed for the ACT Brumbies for the 2003 season. He made his debut for the Brumbies against the

Sharks Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

, scoring a try. He played for the Brumbies in 2004, with the team winning the championship. He missed out on a mid-year test match against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

due to injury. He was a member of the Australian squad that toured England,

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and France at the end of the year but did not play because of a recurring hamstring injury. In late 2005 he made his Test debut for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

when he came on as a replacement against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. Gerrard moved to Japan and spent one season with the

NTT Communications Shining Arcs Urayasu D-Rocks, commonly known as the D-Rocks, or the Shining Arcs, is a rugby union team owned by NTT Communications and is part of Japan's Japan Rugby League One, Rugby League One competition, currently in Japan Rugby League One#Division 1, Div ...

. During the coronation of the present King of Tonga, Mark Gerrard played for

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

during the coronation rugby match in the Teufaiva stadium. Gerrard moved back from Japan to join the Melbourne Rebels for the start of the

2011 Super Rugby season The 2011 Super Rugby season was the first season of the new 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition, which involved teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Including its past iterations as Super 12 and Super 14, this was the 16t ...

. He played 11 of the Rebels 16 games that year. Later in 2011, Gerrard was named in the 40-man Wallabies squad. In May 2012, Gerrard was expected to play his 100th

game.

References

External links

Stats
on It's Rugby {{DEFAULTSORT:Gerrard, Mark 1982 births Australian rugby union players Australia international rugby union players ACT Brumbies players Living people Australian sportspeople of Tongan descent Melbourne Rebels players New South Wales Waratahs players Australian expatriate rugby union players in Japan Rugby union players from Sydney Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union wings Urayasu D-Rocks players Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi players Rugby union centres Rugby union fly-halves Warringah Rugby Club players 21st-century Australian sportsmen