Anton Oliver

Anton David Oliver (born 9 September 1975 in Invercargill) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer. He plays as a hooker. He has been an All Black since 1996.

He plays for the Highlanders in the Super 14 and for Otago in the Air New Zealand Cup. However, he has been linked with a move to Toulon, currently battling for promotion to the French Top 14 and recently noted for signing veteran greats including former All Blacks captain Tana Umaga and Australia great George Gregan, after the 2007 Rugby World Cup.^[1]

Early life

Oliver was born in Invercargill, New Zealand, and attended Marlborough Boys College. He made his provinical debut for Marlborough against Nelson Bays in 1993. He also represented NZ Secondary schools and NZ Under 19s in 1993. In 1994, he represented NZ Under 19s and NZ Under 21s, and represented the Under 21s for the next two years.

He moved to Dunedin in 1994 to attend Otago University, and made his debut for Otago that year.

All Blacks

Oliver made his All Blacks debut age 21, versus Fiji in 1997. He has currently scored a total of 10 test points (2 tries).

Oliver created the first father and son captain combination when he was appointed as All Blacks captain in 2001. Father Frank Oliver captained the All Blacks in 1978.

He is a "thinking man's rugby player" and spoke openly on the excessive drinking that once took place in the All Blacks camp in his book "Anton Oliver, inside" (2005). In this book he speaks unashamedly of how a young fan's letter to him made him rethink his loutish behaviour and praises Wayne Smith and Andrew Martin for getting the All Black ethos back to "where it belongs". He is erudite and is always worth listening to if involved in a post-match interview - no trite "all credit to the opposition" comments to be expected from him.

Oliver is a patron of the Coalition for Open Government.