Simon Maling
Encyclopedia
Simon Thomas Maling is a New Zealand
rugby union
footballer and former All Black. His usual playing position is at lock. He joined the Scarlets at the start of the 2008–09 European season, leaving Suntory Sungoliath
in Japan
, where he played for three years from 2005 to 2008. In mid-2009, at age 34, Maling hung up his boots and retired from rugby returning to his native New Zealand to live.
where he excelled at both rowing
and rugby union
. Upon finishing school he moved to Dunedin
to study at the University of Otago
.
As a student at the University of Otago he shared a flat with fellow All Blacks Anton Oliver
and Tony Brown
.
His first class debut came with three matches for New Zealand Colts in 1996, two of them at the Southern Hemisphere Under 21 tournament. The following year he made three Super 14
appearances for the Highlanders, played once for the Rugby Academy and had eight matches for Otago
, mostly as a replacement.
During most of this time he was one of the Highlanders key players, playing at lock. He played 11 tests for the All Blacks since making his international debut against Italy
in 2001 and he was an All Black for four years. He studied at the University of Otago where he gained his Bachelor of Commerce
degree.
Maling's failure to make the 2003 All Black squad for the Rugby World Cup
came as a major disappointment and as a surprise to many commentators as he had been the inform lock and the best lineout jumper in the Super 12 competition leading up to the Rugby World Cup. Nevertheless, he had been struggling with injuries earlier in the season and this may have cost him his place.
In 2004, Maling's All Black career ended with a disheartening 40–26 loss to South Africa. Having played in 11 tests, Maling headed overseas first to London
in late 2004 where after a brief spell with Harlequins
he headed on to Japan
where he joined Japanese club Suntory Sungoliath
.
In 2006, Suntory Sungoliath lost the final of the Top League
and Microsoft Cup
title to Toshiba Brave Lupus
by a score of 33–18. Then in February 2007, Suntory Sungoliath again lost the final of the Top League and Microsoft Cup title to Toshiba Brave Lupus before a crowd of 23,076 at Tokyo's Chichibunomiya Stadium, the first sellout at the ground in 10 years. The score was 14–13 to Toshiba Brave Lupus. According to Maling, the team was totally gutted by the loss. However Suntory with Maling in the team won the fifth Microsoft Cup
on February 24, 2008 to become champions of the Top League
for 2007–08.
On February 5, 2008 it was announced that Maling would join Llanelli Scarlets
for the 2008/09 season. In April 2009 him and Gavin Thomas were released because of the clause in their contract that said if they were injured for more than 26 weeks they would be released.
Maling was on the winning side in 9 of the 11 tests in which he played, a winning percentage of 81%.
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...
footballer and former All Black. His usual playing position is at lock. He joined the Scarlets at the start of the 2008–09 European season, leaving Suntory Sungoliath
Suntory Sungoliath
Suntory Sungoliath is owned by the Suntory beverage company and is one of the Japanese rugby union teams in the Top League. The team is based in Fuchū, Tokyo, as is their local rival Toshiba Brave Lupus...
in 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...
, where he played for three years from 2005 to 2008. In mid-2009, at age 34, Maling hung up his boots and retired from rugby returning to his native New Zealand to live.
Early life
Maling was born in Christchurch, New Zealand. He grew up in Cashmere, Christchurch and attended Christ's CollegeChrist's College, Canterbury
Christ's College, Christchurch is an independent, Anglican, secondary, day and boarding school for boys, located in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand....
where he excelled at both rowing
Rowing (sport)
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
and 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...
. Upon finishing school he moved to Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
to study at the University of Otago
University of Otago
The University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...
.
As a student at the University of Otago he shared a flat with fellow All Blacks Anton Oliver
Anton Oliver
Anton David Oliver is a retired New Zealand rugby union footballer who most recently played professionally for the French second-division club Toulon, noted for signing veteran greats including former All Blacks captain Tana Umaga and great George Gregan...
and Tony Brown
Tony Brown (rugby player)
Tony Eion Brown is a New Zealand rugby union footballer, playing mainly at first five-eighth .-Early life:...
.
His first class debut came with three matches for New Zealand Colts in 1996, two of them at the Southern Hemisphere Under 21 tournament. The following year he made three Super 14
Super 14
Super Rugby is the largest and pre-eminent professional Rugby union competition in the Southern Hemisphere...
appearances for the Highlanders, played once for the Rugby Academy and had eight matches for Otago
Otago
Otago is a region of New Zealand in the south of the South Island. The region covers an area of approximately making it the country's second largest region. The population of Otago is...
, mostly as a replacement.
Early career
Maling played for the Otago Highlanders in the Super 14 competition starting in 1997 for a total of seven years. In 1999, with Maling in good form, the Highlanders reached the Super 14 final where they were narrowly defeated by the Canterbury Crusaders by a score of 24–19.During most of this time he was one of the Highlanders key players, playing at lock. He played 11 tests for the All Blacks since making his international debut 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 2001 and he was an All Black for four years. He studied at the University of Otago where he gained his Bachelor of Commerce
Bachelor of Commerce
A Bachelor of Commerce is an undergraduate degree in commerce and related subjects. The degree is also known as the Bachelor of Commerce and Administration, or BCA...
degree.
Maling's failure to make the 2003 All Black squad for the Rugby World Cup
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
came as a major disappointment and as a surprise to many commentators as he had been the inform lock and the best lineout jumper in the Super 12 competition leading up to the Rugby World Cup. Nevertheless, he had been struggling with injuries earlier in the season and this may have cost him his place.
Later career
In 2004, following the 2003 Rugby World Cup, Maling made it back into the All Blacks and played all four tri-nations tests that year. However, at the end of the 2004 season the New Zealand Rugby Almanack commented that "Simon Maling lacked the enthusiasm of earlier in his career". Nevertheless, the shortage of good locks in New Zealand at the time of his retirement from All Black rugby meant that if he had stayed longer in New Zealand he might have expected to continue with the All Blacks for a while longer.In 2004, Maling's All Black career ended with a disheartening 40–26 loss to South Africa. Having played in 11 tests, Maling headed overseas first to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in late 2004 where after a brief spell with 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...
he headed on to 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...
where he joined Japanese club Suntory Sungoliath
Suntory Sungoliath
Suntory Sungoliath is owned by the Suntory beverage company and is one of the Japanese rugby union teams in the Top League. The team is based in Fuchū, Tokyo, as is their local rival Toshiba Brave Lupus...
.
In 2006, Suntory Sungoliath lost the final of 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...
and Microsoft Cup
Microsoft Cup
The Microsoft Cup is a knock-out Japanese rugby union tournament sponsored by Microsoft Japan, first played in February 2004. For the first three seasons the top eight teams of the Top League participated and it was a separate competition to the Top League, but in 2007 this was cut to the top four...
title to Toshiba Brave Lupus
Toshiba Brave Lupus
Toshiba Brave Lupus is a Japanese rugby union team in the Top League. They are based in Fuchu, Tokyo, as is their local rival Suntory Sungoliath. They won the second ever Top League championship in the 2004-5 season and the Microsoft Cup in 2005 under their innovative and inventive coach Masahiro...
by a score of 33–18. Then in February 2007, Suntory Sungoliath again lost the final of the Top League and Microsoft Cup title to Toshiba Brave Lupus before a crowd of 23,076 at Tokyo's Chichibunomiya Stadium, the first sellout at the ground in 10 years. The score was 14–13 to Toshiba Brave Lupus. According to Maling, the team was totally gutted by the loss. However Suntory with Maling in the team won the fifth Microsoft Cup
Microsoft Cup
The Microsoft Cup is a knock-out Japanese rugby union tournament sponsored by Microsoft Japan, first played in February 2004. For the first three seasons the top eight teams of the Top League participated and it was a separate competition to the Top League, but in 2007 this was cut to the top four...
on February 24, 2008 to become champions of 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...
for 2007–08.
On February 5, 2008 it was announced that Maling would join Llanelli Scarlets
Llanelli Scarlets
The Scarlets are one of the four professional Welsh regional rugby union teams. Based in Llanelli, south-west Wales the team play at the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the RaboDirect Pro12, as well as competing in the LV= Cup and the Heineken Cup...
for the 2008/09 season. In April 2009 him and Gavin Thomas were released because of the clause in their contract that said if they were injured for more than 26 weeks they would be released.
Summary
A clever lineout forward with a good workrate and a good jumper, Maling perhaps lacked the physical presence to dominate at the very top level. But he was a respected opponent at all levels and gave good service to the All Blacks in the 13 matches (11 tests) that he played.Maling was on the winning side in 9 of the 11 tests in which he played, a winning percentage of 81%.