Ronald Te Huia Cribb (born 7 July 1976) is a former 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. A loose forward, the 1.94 m, 110 kg Cribb is a former All Black, and mainly played number eight.

Early life

Cribb was born in Whanganui, but was raised in

Taihape Taihape is in the Rangitikei District of the North Island of New Zealand. It serves a large rural community. New Zealand State Highway 1, State Highway 1, which runs North to South through the centre of the North Island, passes through the town ...

. His mother left when he was three-and-a-half-years-old, and has been troubled by alcohol-related violence. His father, James, died in May, 2011. He befriended Troy Flavell and looked to his family as parental figures. He was expelled from Rutherford High School due to anger issues.

Career

Cribb last played professionally in Japan for Kobelco Steelers. He joined from the North Harbour province. During his time with North Harbour, Cribb played alongside fellow former All Black Troy Flavell, who was also Cribb's teammate in the Massey High School 1st XV and for the Massey Premier side. Both got their first All Blacks call-ups on the same day. Cribb played 16 games for the

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 ...

, 34 Super 12 games for the Auckland Blues and 41 games for North Harbour. He also played 6 games for New Zealand Māori. In 2010, his career ended when he suffered a broken neck in Japan as a result of a collapsed maul. In 2020, he was in the ''Match Fit'' squad with fellow alumni against

New Zealand Barbarians The New Zealand Barbarian Rugby Club Inc., nicknamed the ''Barbarians'', or ''Baa-Baas'', is a rugby union club headquartered in Kingsland, New Zealand, Kingsland, Auckland. The idea came from the concept of the Barbarian F.C. The Barbarians pla ...

, but was ruled out of the match as the prolapsed cervical disc neck injury had not fully healed. He returned to Match Fit for season 2 in 2021/22 (aired in June 2022), but revealed that his starting weight and total cholesterol levels were higher than the beginning of season 2, as he was recovering from torn Achilles when playing touch rugby, and also just recovered from non-

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...

. He remained as a touch-rugby-only reserve player, and emergency assistant coach when Graham Henry was unwell due to illness in season 2. Cribb is a castaway on the 2022 series of the New Zealand reality television show ''Celebrity Treasure Island''.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cribb, Ron 1976 births Living people Māori All Blacks players New Zealand international rugby union players New Zealand rugby union players Rugby union number eights Kobelco Kobe Steelers players New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in Japan North Harbour rugby union players Crusaders (rugby union) players Blues (Super Rugby) players People educated at Massey High School New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in Italy Rugby union players from Whanganui Participants in New Zealand reality television series Rugby Rovigo Delta players