Richard Kingi (born 17 March 1989 in

Tauranga Tauranga (, Māori language for "resting place," or "safe anchorage") is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the List of cities in New Zealand, fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of or roughly 3% of t ...

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 ...

) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

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. While his usual position is half back, he often plays on the

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 ...

and sometimes at fullback.

Career

Brought up in

Te Puke Te Puke ( ) is a town located southeast of Tauranga in the Western Bay of Plenty of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for the cultivation of kiwifruit. Te Puke is close to Tauranga and Maketu, which are both coastal towns/cities, a ...

near the Bay of Plenty, Kingi's family moved to Australia when he was 15 years old. He played for Sunnybank rugby club, before going onto representative football that included the Queensland U19s, U20s, the IRB Junior World Championships and the Australian Sevens. He travelled with the Wallabies spring tour of Japan and Great Britain in 2009, and made his Wallabies debut against the

Cardiff Blues Cardiff Rugby () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms Park. Originally formed in 1876, from 2003 to 2021 the first team was known as the Cardiff Blues before rebranding back ...

. In 2009–10 Kingi was reserve halfback for the

Queensland Reds The Queensland Reds is the rugby union team based in Brisbane for the Australian state of Queensland that competes in the Southern Hemisphere's Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996, they were a representative team selected from the rugby union ...

, behind Will Genia. He signed a two-year deal with the

Melbourne Rebels The Melbourne Rebels were an Australian professional rugby union team based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria that competed in the Super Rugby competition. The Rebels made their debut in SANZAAR, SANZAR's Super Rugby tournament in 2011. T ...

in March 2010, and in 2011 his competitors for the Rebels halfback role were Nick Phipps, and former Wallaby Sam Cordingley. In October 2010, Kingi was named as one of 12 uncapped players in the Wallabies' 40-man squad to train for its tour of Hong Kong and Europe. When he wasn't required for Wallabies training he travelled to Lorne to be part of the Rebels' pre-season team-building activities.

Griffith university colleges knights

As of the 2019 season Kingi has signed on as Backs coach and Fly Half for the Knights in the Gold Coast District Rugby Union competition. As of 18 May he has led them to 6 wins from 6 appearances. He has also been instrumental in the Knights Women's 7's program acting as Coach and Mentor for the girls in his role as director of women's rugby.

Personal life and relatives

Kingi has six children. His cousin Tanerau Latimer is a Chiefs flanker, New Zealand Maori representative and former All Black.

References

External links

Richard Kingi Melbourne Rebels profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingi, Richard 1989 births Australian rugby union players Melbourne Rebels players Queensland Reds players Stade Français Paris players Rugby union scrum-halves Rugby union wings Rugby union fullbacks New Zealand emigrants to Australia Australian expatriate rugby union players in France People educated at Keebra Park State High School People from Te Puke Living people Expatriate rugby union players in Russia Yenisey-STM Krasnoyarsk players Rugby union players from Tauranga 21st-century Australian sportsmen Australia international rugby union players