Greg Somerville
Encyclopedia
Greg Mardon Somerville is a New Zealand
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...

 player. He is a former All Black and a specialised tighthead prop who can also play loosehead. Somerville made his All Black debut in 2000 against Tonga
Tonga national rugby union team
The Tonga national rugby union team is nicknamed Ikale Tahi . Like their Polynesian neighbours, the Tongans start their matches with a war dance – the Kailao . They are members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance along with Fiji and Samoa...

, a match in which the All Blacks won 102–0. Somerville went 41 test matches before scoring his first, and only test try against Fiji
Fiji national rugby union team
The Fiji national rugby union team is a member of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance formerly along with Samoa and Tonga. In 2009, Samoa announced their departure from the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance, leaving just Fiji and Tonga. Fiji are ranked sixteenth in the world by the IRB as of 26...

 in 2005.

Somerville played provincial rugby for Canterbury Rugby Football Union
Canterbury Rugby Football Union
The Canterbury Rugby Football Union is the governing body for rugby union in a substantial part of the Canterbury region, in the middle of the South Island of New Zealand...

 and for the Crusaders in the Super Rugby competition, having played 100 Super rugby matches after debuting against the Chiefs in 1999. Somerville's nickname is Yoda
Yoda
Yoda is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, appearing in the second and third original films, as well as all three prequel trilogy films. A renowned Jedi master, Yoda made his first on-screen appearance in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back where he is responsible for...

, after the fictional character from Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...

 due to their resemblance.

He played his 50th test match against Argentina on June 2006 at Buenos Aires.

Somerville left New Zealand in late 2008, having signed a two-and-a-half year deal with the Guinness Premiership
Guinness Premiership
The English Premiership, also currently known as the Aviva Premiership because of the league's sponsorship by Aviva, is a professional league competition for rugby union football clubs in the top division of the English rugby system. There are twelve clubs in the Premiership...

 club Gloucester. After the All Blacks tour in the Northern Hemisphere he headed to his new club at Kingsholm
Kingsholm Stadium
Kingsholm Stadium is a rugby union stadium in Gloucester, England, and is the home stadium of Gloucester Rugby. The stadium has a capacity of 16,500. It is sometimes nicknamed 'Castle Grim' after the estate where the stadium is built and also in reference to Gloucester's admirable home form...

. He has already become a fan favourite for his work-effort in the loose and his excellent scrummaging. He suffered an eye injury early in his Gloucester career but recovered to make 13 appearances in 2008–09.

Somerville's sporting hero is Buck Shelford
Wayne Shelford
Wayne Thomas "Buck" Shelford is a New Zealand former rugby union footballer and coach who represented and captained New Zealand in the late 1980s...

, who, he says, "was a tremendous leader for the 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....

 and an outstanding front-rower."

Other

  • Played 42 matches for New Zealand before scoring his first try
    Try
    A try is the major way of scoring points in rugby league and rugby union football. A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area...

     against Fiji
    Fiji national rugby union team
    The Fiji national rugby union team is a member of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance formerly along with Samoa and Tonga. In 2009, Samoa announced their departure from the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance, leaving just Fiji and Tonga. Fiji are ranked sixteenth in the world by the IRB as of 26...

     in 2005. This is an All Blacks record for most matches before scoring points.
  • This is still his only try in 55 international matches.
  • Played in six RWC 2003 matches.
  • Played a leadership role for the Melbourne Rebels
    Melbourne Rebels
    The Melbourne Rebels are a professional rugby union team based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. They made their debut in SANZAR's Super Rugby tournament in 2011. They are the first privately owned professional rugby union team in Australia...

     in the 2011 Super Rugby season.

External links

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