Matt Todd

Matt Todd

Birth name	Matthew Brendon Todd
Date of birth	(1988-03-24) 24 March 1988
Place of birth	Christchurch, New Zealand
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	105 kg (16 st 7 lb; 231 lb)
School	Kaiapoi High School Christchurch Boys' High School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Openside Flanker Provincial / State sides Years Team Apps (Points) 2009– Canterbury 71 (80) Correct as of 29 October 2016 Super Rugby Years Team Apps (Points) 2011– Crusaders 94 (100) Correct as of 23 July 2016 International career Years Team Apps (Points) 2013– New Zealand 14 (5) Correct as of 23 June 2018

Matthew Brendon Todd (born 24 March 1988) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer. He plays at blindside and openside flanker for the All Blacks, Canterbury in the ITM Cup and is one of two vice-captains for the Crusaders in the Super Rugby competition. He is 1.85 metres (6 ft 1 in) tall and weighs 105 kilograms (231 lb).

Playing career

In 2009 made his Air New Zealand Cup debut as a replacement against Waikato at AMI Stadium. He made his first start against Taranaki a week later in the second Shield challenge of the season.

In the 2010 NPC season, with team mate Richie McCaw being busy with the All Blacks, he had a chance to start in all of Canterbury's games. His versatility in being able to play blindside and openside flanker has helped Canterbury to win the Ranfurly Shield.

Following an early season injury to McCaw, Todd was selected to play for the Crusaders 2011 season. Todd had previously been in the Crusaders' wider training group in 2010. In 2013, Todd was selected to play on the bench against France in the third test for the All Blacks. Todd was also used off the bench against South Africa that year. Todd also played against Samoa in Apia in 2015 off the bench for a one-off test match.

Todd was re-selected for New Zealand in 2016's Rugby Championship following a leg injury to Sam Cane. Todd earned two starts in the series, against South Africa and Australia where New Zealand retained the Bledisloe Cup. He was notably named man of the match in the final Bledisloe Test, before being replaced by Ardie Savea.

Todd's standout 2016 season saw him named as one of two vice-captains for the Crusaders in 2017 alongside Ryan Crotty, with lock Sam Whitelock named as captain.

Todd played the full 80 minutes against the touring British and Irish Lions side for the Crusaders on 10th June. The Crusaders lost 3-12. Despite performing well in his Super Rugby campaign which included a start in the 25-17 Grand Final win over the Lions, Todd was not selected for the All Blacks' Lions series squad or the initial squad for the 2017 Rugby Championship. After Jerome Kaino paused his training with the All Blacks due to personal reasons and went to represent Auckland in the Mitre 10 Cup, Todd was re-selected and started against Argentina in a scrappy 36-10 win where he received the first yellow card of his test career and was replaced by Ardie Savea in the 65th minute. Todd made four more appearances for the All Blacks in 2017, including three on the bench as a replacement for Sam Cane on the end-of-year tour.

School boy rugby

Todd's started his rugby playing career at the Kaiapoi Rugby Football Union and went on to play for the Kaiapoi High School first XV. He then took the opportunity of a full scholarship at CBHS. While at Christchurch Boys' High School, Todd appeared alongside fellow All Blacks Colin Slade and Owen Franks as well as former Crusader Nasi Manu and current Crusader Tim Bateman.

External links

• Matt Todd at AllBlacks.com
• Matt Todd Canterbury Player Profile
• Matt Todd Crusaders Player Profile