Keven Mealamu
Encyclopedia
Keven Mealamu is a New Zealand
rugby union
footballer. He plays at hooker for the Blues in the Super 14
, Auckland in the National Provincial Championship
, and the New Zealand national team, All Blacks
.
, where his brother Luke Mealamu former Manu Samoa player currently works as a Social Worker.
He played as a flanker for New Zealand Under-16s and New Zealand Schools before switching to hooker in 1998.
on 23 November 2002, against Wales
at Millennium Stadium
in Cardiff
. Mealamu's provincial rugby debut was for Auckland in 1999. He first played for the Blues in 2000, but had a stint with the Chiefs in 2002 – the same year he debuted for the All Blacks. Mealamu also made a fine contribution to the start of the All Blacks' 2006 Tri Nations campaign
with two tries against the Wallabies
during the first match. Mealamu captained the Blues through their 2006 Super 14 campaign, but was forced to relinquish the captaincy in 2007 due to his commitments to the All Blacks. Mealamu was made test captain in the test match against Scotland
during the All Blacks 2008 Grand Slam tour, as regular captain Richie McCaw
was a reserve for that match.
, were involved in an incident in the first test of the Lions tour to New Zealand
on 25 June 2005. In the first minute of the Test, Mealamu and Umaga combined to upend Lions
captain Brian O'Driscoll
in a controversial post-ruck clean-out. The clean-out resulted in O'Driscoll dislocating his shoulder, necessitating surgery and causing him to miss the rest of the tour. O'Driscoll and Lions management characterized the incident as a "deliberate spear tackle
". The independent citing commissioner found that neither Mealamu nor Umaga had a case to answer at the time due to inconclusive evidence, but after viewing new amateur footage of the incident, Greg Thomas, communications manager for the sport's governing body, the International Rugby Board
(IRB), described the tackle as "unacceptably dangerous" and stated that IRB was instructing referees to suspend players for three to six months for such offenses. After the controversy, Mealamu's reputation was reinforced by his exceptional play during New Zealand's triumphant 2005 Tri Nations campaign
in which he scored the key winning try and bonus point against the Springboks in Dunedin
. He also scored a match-winning try against England later that year in Twickenham
on 19 November.
Following a test match against England at Twickenham on 6 November 2010, Mealamu was cited by the independent citing commissioner (John West, Ireland) for headbutting Lewis Moody
. He was found guilty by Professor Lorne Crerar and given a 4 week ban (compared to the 9 week ban given to South African lock Bakkies Botha for a similar butting offence in July 2010). On appeal this was reduced to two weeks. The appeal panel (Peter Ingwersen of South Africa, Robert Williams of Wales and Jean Noel Couraud of France) issued a statement saying "Although [we] upheld the original decision that there had been an act of foul play, having had the opportunity to review the video footage, [we] concluded that the act was not intentional and that it merited a lower-end entry point in the IRB list of sanctions, namely four weeks. In view of the compelling mitigating factors and the absence of aggravating factors, this was reduced to two weeks."
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
footballer. He plays at hooker for the Blues in the Super 14
Super 14
Super Rugby is the largest and pre-eminent professional Rugby union competition in the Southern Hemisphere...
, Auckland in the National Provincial Championship
National Provincial Championship
The National Provincial Championship, or NPC, is the major domestic rugby competition in New Zealand. The NPC has seen many alterations to its format and brand. Since 2006 the National Championship has been split into 2 competitions, the ITM Cup and the Heartland Championship...
, and the New Zealand national team, All Blacks
All Blacks
The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
.
Early career
He is a former student of Aorere CollegeAorere College
Aorere College is a co-educational state secondary school that was established in 1964 in Papatoetoe, Manukau, Auckland, New Zealand. Patrick Drumm is the principal of the college...
, where his brother Luke Mealamu former Manu Samoa player currently works as a Social Worker.
He played as a flanker for New Zealand Under-16s and New Zealand Schools before switching to hooker in 1998.
Professional Career and the All Blacks
He made his debut for the All BlacksAll Blacks
The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
on 23 November 2002, against Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
at Millennium Stadium
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
. Mealamu's provincial rugby debut was for Auckland in 1999. He first played for the Blues in 2000, but had a stint with the Chiefs in 2002 – the same year he debuted for the All Blacks. Mealamu also made a fine contribution to the start of the All Blacks' 2006 Tri Nations campaign
2006 Tri Nations Series
-Week 2:-Week 3:-Week 4:* All Blacks retain Bledisloe Cup-Week 5:-Week 6:-Week 7:-Week 8:-Week 9:-External links:* * *...
with two tries against the Wallabies
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
during the first match. Mealamu captained the Blues through their 2006 Super 14 campaign, but was forced to relinquish the captaincy in 2007 due to his commitments to the All Blacks. Mealamu was made test captain in the test match against Scotland
Scotland national rugby union team
The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
during the All Blacks 2008 Grand Slam tour, as regular captain Richie McCaw
Richie McCaw
Richard Hugh "Richie" McCaw is a New Zealand rugby union player, and is the current test captain. He plays in the openside flanker position for the New Zealand, Crusaders and Canterbury rugby teams...
was a reserve for that match.
Controversy
Mealamu and All Blacks captain, Tana UmagaTana Umaga
Jonathan Ionatana Falefasa "Tana" Umaga, ONZM is a New Zealand rugby union footballer and former captain of the national team, the All Blacks. He played for the Hurricanes starting with the Super 12's inception in 1996 and took over the captaincy in 2003...
, were involved in an incident in the first test of the Lions tour to New Zealand
2005 British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand
In 2005 the British and Irish Lions rugby union team toured New Zealand for the first time since 1993, playing 7 tour matches against first and second division clubs from the National Provincial Championship series, 1 tour match against the national New Zealand all Māori club, and 3 official test...
on 25 June 2005. In the first minute of the Test, Mealamu and Umaga combined to upend Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
captain Brian O'Driscoll
Brian O'Driscoll
Brian O'Driscoll is an Irish professional rugby union player. He is the current captain of the Ireland Rugby team and captained Leinster Rugby until the start of 2008 season. He also captained the British and Irish Lions for their 2005 tour of New Zealand...
in a controversial post-ruck clean-out. The clean-out resulted in O'Driscoll dislocating his shoulder, necessitating surgery and causing him to miss the rest of the tour. O'Driscoll and Lions management characterized the incident as a "deliberate spear tackle
Spear tackle
A spear tackle is a dangerous tackle in rugby union, rugby league and Australian rules football whereby a player lifts another player into the air and dumps or drops them upside down...
". The independent citing commissioner found that neither Mealamu nor Umaga had a case to answer at the time due to inconclusive evidence, but after viewing new amateur footage of the incident, Greg Thomas, communications manager for the sport's governing body, the International Rugby Board
International Rugby Board
The International Rugby Board is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. It was founded in 1886 as the International Rugby Football Board by the unions of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. England refused to join until 1890. The International Rugby Football Board changed its name to the...
(IRB), described the tackle as "unacceptably dangerous" and stated that IRB was instructing referees to suspend players for three to six months for such offenses. After the controversy, Mealamu's reputation was reinforced by his exceptional play during New Zealand's triumphant 2005 Tri Nations campaign
2005 Tri Nations Series
-Round Two:-Round Three:-Round Four:-Round Five:-Round Six:-External links:* at Rugby.com.aurugby union schedule for 2005...
in which he scored the key winning try and bonus point against the Springboks in Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
. He also scored a match-winning try against England later that year in Twickenham
Twickenham Stadium
Twickenham Stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000...
on 19 November.
Following a test match against England at Twickenham on 6 November 2010, Mealamu was cited by the independent citing commissioner (John West, Ireland) for headbutting Lewis Moody
Lewis Moody
Lewis Walton Moody MBE is an English rugby union rugby player who currently plays for Bath Rugby and was part of the 2003 World Cup winning side. He is renowned for his commitment to the physical aspects of the game....
. He was found guilty by Professor Lorne Crerar and given a 4 week ban (compared to the 9 week ban given to South African lock Bakkies Botha for a similar butting offence in July 2010). On appeal this was reduced to two weeks. The appeal panel (Peter Ingwersen of South Africa, Robert Williams of Wales and Jean Noel Couraud of France) issued a statement saying "Although [we] upheld the original decision that there had been an act of foul play, having had the opportunity to review the video footage, [we] concluded that the act was not intentional and that it merited a lower-end entry point in the IRB list of sanctions, namely four weeks. In view of the compelling mitigating factors and the absence of aggravating factors, this was reduced to two weeks."