Mark Gerrard
Encyclopedia
Mark Gerrard is an Australia
n professional rugby union
footballer. He currently plays for the Melbourne Rebels
in Super Rugby competition. In 2011 he was one of 10 players nominated to become the competition's Super Rugby player of the year.
He has played for the Australian Wallabies
and previously played for the NSW Waratahs and the ACT Brumbies. He usually plays at fullback or wing but can also cover in the centres and sometimes flyhalf. His sister Mo'onia Gerrard
is an Australian representative netball
er. He is the cousin of former Wallaby Wycliff Palu
.
, where he started playing rugby league, before switching codes in 2000. Gerrard made the Australian Schoolboys team in 1999. He went on to play for the Warringah Rugby Club
and represented Australia in the national under-19s side in both 2000 and 2001; also in 2001 he represented Australia in the under-21s side. After the successful appearances for junior representative sides, he made his Super 12 debut for the New South Wales Waratahs
. He continued to make the under-21 Australian side up for the next two years, before touring Japan
with Australia A in 2003. He signed for the ACT Brumbies for the 2003 season. He made his debut for the Brumbies against the Sharks at Durban
, scoring a try
. He played for the Brumbies in 2004, with the team winning the championship. He missed out on a mid-year test match against England
in Brisbane
due to injury. He was a member of the Australian squad
that toured England
, Scotland
and France
at the end of the year but did not play because of a recurring hamstring injury. During the 2005 Super 12 season, Gerrard again battled injuries, but later that year he made his test match debut for Australia
when he came on as a replacement against Italy
in Melbourne
.
During the coronation of the present King of Tonga, Mark Gerrard played for Tonga
during the coronation rugby match in the Teufaiva stadium.
In 2011 Gerrard played Super Rugby for the Melbourne Rebels, and played 11 of the Rebels’ 16 games. At the end of the 2011 Super Rugby season Gerrard was named in the 40-man Wallabies squad, along with Rebels' halfback Nik Phipps
. Also named in the squad were new Rebel signings Kurtley Beale
and James O'Connor
.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n professional 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 currently plays 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 Super Rugby competition. In 2011 he was one of 10 players nominated to become the competition's Super Rugby player of the year.
He has played for the Australian 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...
and previously played for the NSW Waratahs and the ACT Brumbies. He usually plays at fullback or wing but can also cover in the centres and sometimes flyhalf. His sister Mo'onia Gerrard
Mo'onia Gerrard
Mo'onia Gerrard is a Tongan-Australian netball player. Gerrard is a current member of the Australian national team, and from 2011 is playing for the New South Wales Swifts in the ANZ Championship...
is an Australian representative netball
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...
er. He is the cousin of former Wallaby Wycliff Palu
Wycliff Palu
Wycliff Palu is an Australian rugby union footballer of Tongan descent. He plays for the New South Wales Waratahs in the international Super Rugby competition...
.
Biography
He was educated at both Narrabeen North Primary School and Narrabeen Sports High SchoolNarrabeen Sports High School
Narrabeen Sports High School, is a school located in North Narrabeen, New South Wales, Australia, on Namona Street and Pittwater Road. It is a co-educational Sports high school operated by the New South Wales Department of Education and Training with students from years 7 to 12...
, where he started playing rugby league, before switching codes in 2000. Gerrard made the Australian Schoolboys team in 1999. He went on to play for the Warringah Rugby Club
Warringah Rugby Club
Warringah Rugby Club is a rugby union club based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, New South Wales. Only located 25 km from the city centre, the club is close to many magnificent beaches, the Sydney Academy of Sport and Narrabeen Lake. The club currently competes in the New South Wales Rugby...
and represented Australia in the national under-19s side in both 2000 and 2001; also in 2001 he represented Australia in the under-21s side. After the successful appearances for junior representative sides, he made his Super 12 debut for the New South Wales Waratahs
New South Wales Waratahs
The New South Wales Waratahs are an Australian rugby union football team, representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super 15 Super Rugby competition...
. He continued to make the under-21 Australian side up for the next two years, before touring Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
with Australia A in 2003. He signed for the ACT Brumbies for the 2003 season. He made his debut for the Brumbies against the Sharks at Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
, scoring a 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...
. He played for the Brumbies in 2004, with the team winning the championship. He missed out on a mid-year test match against England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
due to injury. He was a member of the Australian squad
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...
that toured England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
at the end of the year but did not play because of a recurring hamstring injury. During the 2005 Super 12 season, Gerrard again battled injuries, but later that year he made his test match debut for Australia
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...
when he came on as a replacement against Italy
Italy national rugby union team
The Italy national rugby union team represent the nation of Italy in the sport of rugby union. The team is also known as the Azzurri . Italy have been playing international rugby since the late 1920s, and since 2000 compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland,...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
.
During the coronation of the present King of Tonga, Mark Gerrard played for 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...
during the coronation rugby match in the Teufaiva stadium.
In 2011 Gerrard played Super Rugby for the Melbourne Rebels, and played 11 of the Rebels’ 16 games. At the end of the 2011 Super Rugby season Gerrard was named in the 40-man Wallabies squad, along with Rebels' halfback Nik Phipps
Nicholas Phipps
Nicholas Phipps was a British actor and screenwriter who appeared in more than thirty films during a career that lasted between 1938 and 1970. He was born in London in 1913. He made his screen debut in the 1938 television film Hands Across the Sea. He appeared mainly in British comedy films, often...
. Also named in the squad were new Rebel signings Kurtley Beale
Kurtley Beale
Kurtley Beale is an Australian representative rugby union player. His primary position is fullback.- Youth :Beale signed to the Waratahs while a 16 year old at St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill. Before leaving school Beale captained the Australian Schoolboys and regularly attended training...
and James O'Connor
James O'Connor (rugby)
James O'Connor is an Australian international rugby union footballer. He made his Wallabies debut in 2008. In the Super Rugby competition he played from 2008 to 2011 with Western Force, and subsequently signed to the Melbourne Rebels for the 2012 season.-Biography:O'Connor is a versatile...
.
External links
- Wallabies profile
- Mark Gerrard at Rugby.com.au