Rico Gear
Encyclopedia
Rico Levi Gear (born 26 February 1978 in Gisborne, New Zealand
) is a New Zealand rugby union
international
player. He is a specialist right wing but can also cover midfield positions. He currently plays for Kintetsu Liners
in the Top League
.
Rico is the older brother of New Zealand wing Hosea Gear
team. He also studied anthropology at Massey University
with an emphasis on Māoridom and Māori language for two years.
Gear made his provincial debut in 1997, playing for Poverty Bay against King Country. He has since played for provincial sides; Auckland
, Bay of Plenty
, North Harbour
and Nelson Bays.
He made his Super 12
debut for the Auckland Blues in 1999 against the Queensland Reds
. He also had a stint with the Highlanders
, however his career really ignited when he went to the Crusaders at the end of the 2004 season.
Gear played every game in the 2005 season, for the Crusaders, and he scored 15 times for the 2005 champions. He was also named Rebel Sport Super 12 player of the Year and the Tom French Memorial Māori Player of the Year.
He was first choice right wing for the Crusaders in the 2006 Super 14 season
. Gear has a younger brother Hosea Gear
who plays wing for the Highlanders.
In June 2007 Gear was signed by Guinness Premiership
side Worcester Warriors and is currently playing for them.
Gear is regarded as one of the most dangerous and clinical wingers in world rugby and will be aiming to carve up in the Guinness Premiership
during the 2008/09 campaign.
The wing sensation became one of the biggest signings in the club’s long history after agreeing a three-year deal that will keep him at Sixways
until 2010.
Gear made a stunning start to his Warriors career with four tries in a match on his full debut – equalling the competition record – as Warriors punished Gran Parma and he continued to rack up the tries.
The wing wonder scored one of the most memorable individual tries ever seen at Sixways Stadium
with his solo stunner against Bucuresti
and also scored a breathtaking one-handed effort against Harlequins
at The Stoop
.
Despite being hit by a number of unfortunate injuries towards the end of the campaign, Gear still finished the season with a staggering record of
12 tries in only 19 appearances for the club and vowing he would show his real form in the 2008/09 term. After Worcester Warriors got relegated after the 2009–2010 season, he signed with Japanese Top League
team Kintetsu Liners
in April.
in their 2005 tour of New Zealand
. He scored his first All Blacks hat-trick against Wales at the Millennium Stadium in 2005. He also played in the 2006 Tri Nations.
He won a Commonwealth Games gold medal when he was part of the New Zealand Sevens side and also has World Cup Sevens medals.
In spite of appearances in the All Blacks
in the 2007 season, Gear was omitted from the Rugby World Cup squad, announced on 22 July 2007. Doug Howlett
was selected in his place.
In all he scored 11 tries in 19 tests for the All Blacks including a hat trick against Wales at Cardiff and 2 against Scotland on the same tour.
Gisborne, New Zealand
-Economy:The harbour was host to many ships in the past and had developed as a river port to provide a more secure location for shipping compared with the open roadstead of Poverty Bay which can be exposed to southerly swells. A meat works was sited beside the harbour and meat and wool was shipped...
) is a New Zealand 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...
international
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....
player. He is a specialist right wing but can also cover midfield positions. He currently plays for Kintetsu Liners
Kintetsu Liners
Kintetsu Liners rugby team are a Japanese rugby union team owned by Kintetsu Corporation which was founded in 1929. They have won the All-Japan Championship three times as an amateur team...
in the Top League
Top League
The Top League is a professional rugby union league created by the Japan Rugby Football Union to drive up the overall standard and popularity of the sport in the country and improve the results of the Japan national rugby union team. The first season was 2003-04 and featured 12 teams...
.
Rico is the older brother of New Zealand wing Hosea Gear
Hosea Gear
Hosea Gear is a New Zealand rugby union player. He plays for the Highlanders in the Super 15 competition as a wing. He has played six international matches for New Zealand and scored five tries...
Club career
Gear was educated at Gisborne Boys' High. In 1990 Gear played for the Gisborne East Coast under 13 rugby leagueRugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
team. He also studied anthropology at Massey University
Massey University
Massey University is one of New Zealand's largest universities with approximately 36,000 students, 20,000 of whom are extramural students.The University has campuses in Palmerston North , Wellington and Auckland . Massey offers most of its degrees extramurally within New Zealand and internationally...
with an emphasis on Māoridom and Māori language for two years.
Gear made his provincial debut in 1997, playing for Poverty Bay against King Country. He has since played for provincial sides; Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, Bay of Plenty
Bay of Plenty
The Bay of Plenty , often abbreviated to BOP, is a region in the North Island of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name...
, North Harbour
North Harbour Rugby Union
The North Harbour Rugby Union , commonly referred to colloquially as North Harbour or simply Harbour, is a provincial rugby team which competes in the ITM Cup , the successor to the country's former domestic competition, the National Provincial Championship .-Area:Harbour Rugby encompasses a...
and Nelson Bays.
He made his Super 12
Super 14
Super Rugby is the largest and pre-eminent professional Rugby union competition in the Southern Hemisphere...
debut for the Auckland Blues in 1999 against the Queensland Reds
Queensland Reds
The Queensland Reds represent Queensland in the sport of rugby union in the Southern Hemisphere Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996 they were a representative team selected on merit from the rugby union club competitions in Queensland...
. He also had a stint with the Highlanders
Highlanders (Super rugby franchise)
The Highlanders are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Dunedin that compete in Super Rugby. The franchise represents the North Otago, Otago and Southland provincial Rugby unions. The Highlanders take their name from the Scottish immigrants that helped found the Otago, North...
, however his career really ignited when he went to the Crusaders at the end of the 2004 season.
Gear played every game in the 2005 season, for the Crusaders, and he scored 15 times for the 2005 champions. He was also named Rebel Sport Super 12 player of the Year and the Tom French Memorial Māori Player of the Year.
He was first choice right wing for the Crusaders in the 2006 Super 14 season
2006 Super 14 season
The 2006 Super 14 season started on Friday 10 February 2006. The Grand Final was held on Saturday 27 May 2006. Super 14 is a provincial rugby union competition with 14 teams from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. This season was the first of the expansion, which saw two new teams, the...
. Gear has a younger brother Hosea Gear
Hosea Gear
Hosea Gear is a New Zealand rugby union player. He plays for the Highlanders in the Super 15 competition as a wing. He has played six international matches for New Zealand and scored five tries...
who plays wing for the Highlanders.
In June 2007 Gear was signed by 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...
side Worcester Warriors and is currently playing for them.
Gear is regarded as one of the most dangerous and clinical wingers in world rugby and will be aiming to carve up in 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...
during the 2008/09 campaign.
The wing sensation became one of the biggest signings in the club’s long history after agreeing a three-year deal that will keep him at Sixways
Sixways Stadium
Sixways Stadium is a stadium in Worcester, England. It is currently used mostly for rugby union matches and is the home stadium of Worcester Rugby Football Club. The stadium is able to hold 12,068. It opened in 1975 and is located off junction 6 of the M5 motorway, hence the name Sixways.An...
until 2010.
Gear made a stunning start to his Warriors career with four tries in a match on his full debut – equalling the competition record – as Warriors punished Gran Parma and he continued to rack up the tries.
The wing wonder scored one of the most memorable individual tries ever seen at Sixways Stadium
Sixways Stadium
Sixways Stadium is a stadium in Worcester, England. It is currently used mostly for rugby union matches and is the home stadium of Worcester Rugby Football Club. The stadium is able to hold 12,068. It opened in 1975 and is located off junction 6 of the M5 motorway, hence the name Sixways.An...
with his solo stunner against Bucuresti
Bucuresti Rugby
Bucureşti are a rugby union team from Bucharest, Romania, that competes in the European Challenge Cup. The side is a team that is formed every season to play in the Challenge Cup, consisting of footballers playing in the domestic Romanian leagues...
and also scored a breathtaking one-handed effort against Harlequins
Harlequin F.C.
The Harlequin Football Club is an English rugby union team who play in the top level of English rugby, the Aviva Premiership. Their ground in London is Twickenham Stoop...
at The Stoop
The Stoop
Twickenham Stoop is a sports stadium located in the western suburbs of London, England. The stadium is home to Harlequins rugby union team, who play in the Aviva Premiership, and tenants London Broncos, who play in the Super League...
.
Despite being hit by a number of unfortunate injuries towards the end of the campaign, Gear still finished the season with a staggering record of
12 tries in only 19 appearances for the club and vowing he would show his real form in the 2008/09 term. After Worcester Warriors got relegated after the 2009–2010 season, he signed with Japanese Top League
Top League
The Top League is a professional rugby union league created by the Japan Rugby Football Union to drive up the overall standard and popularity of the sport in the country and improve the results of the Japan national rugby union team. The first season was 2003-04 and featured 12 teams...
team Kintetsu Liners
Kintetsu Liners
Kintetsu Liners rugby team are a Japanese rugby union team owned by Kintetsu Corporation which was founded in 1929. They have won the All-Japan Championship three times as an amateur team...
in April.
International career
Gear made his international debut on 10 July 2004 in a match against the Pacific Islanders, where he also scored a try. He went on to play in numerous matches against the British and Irish LionsBritish and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
in their 2005 tour of 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...
. He scored his first All Blacks hat-trick against Wales at the Millennium Stadium in 2005. He also played in the 2006 Tri Nations.
He won a Commonwealth Games gold medal when he was part of the New Zealand Sevens side and also has World Cup Sevens medals.
In spite of appearances in 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....
in the 2007 season, Gear was omitted from the Rugby World Cup squad, announced on 22 July 2007. Doug Howlett
Doug Howlett
Douglas Charles Howlett is a professional New Zealand rugby union player of Tongan descent. He is primarily a wing but he has also covered fullback at national and international levels. He currently plays in Ireland with Munster. He is the brother of former Tongan rugby league international Phil...
was selected in his place.
In all he scored 11 tries in 19 tests for the All Blacks including a hat trick against Wales at Cardiff and 2 against Scotland on the same tour.