Blade Neville Thomson (born 4 December 1990) is a former professional rugby union player who played as a lock or loose forward. Born in Auckland, New Zealand, he represented Scotland in international rugby, being eligible for the national team through his paternal grandfather, Robert, who was from Wishaw. He played for Taranaki in the ITM Cup[1][2] and for the Super Rugby franchise the Hurricanes,[3] and spent the last five years of his career playing in Wales for the Scarlets.
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| Full name | Blade Neville Thomson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 4 December 1990 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Auckland, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 106 kg (16 st 10 lb; 234 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Gisborne Boys' High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Professional career
editThomson was a member of the Hurricanes Wider Training Group in 2012, and he joined the squad for the 2013 Super Rugby season. Thomson missed the 2017 Super Rugby season due to shoulder reconstruction surgery.
Thomson joined Pro14 team the Scarlets at the beginning of the 2018–19 season.
On 16 February 2023, Thomson announced his retirement due to a head injury.[4]
International career
editThomson was a member of the New Zealand Under 20 team that won the 2010 IRB Junior World Championship in Argentina,[5] where the 197 cm forward played alongside the likes of Crusaders Tyler Bleyendaal and Tom Marshall and All Black winger Julian Savea.[6]
In October 2018, Thomson was called up to Scotland for the Autumn Internationals.[7] He made his Scotland debut on 24 August 2019 in a Rugby World Cup warm-up match against France at Murrayfield Stadium.[8]
Personal life
editThomson is a New Zealander of Māori descent (Ngāpuhi descent).[9]
References
edit- ^ "Blade Thomson NZ Sports Yahoo profile". Retrieved 29 October 2012.
- ^ "Illness opens door for Blade Thomson". Taranaki Daily News. Fairfax. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
- ^ "Hooker, halfback, prop needed for Hurricanes". Rugby Heaven. Fairfax. 27 October 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
- ^ "Scarlets' Scotland back row Thomson retires". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
- ^ "Champions New Zealand name JWC 2010 squad". Rugby World Cup (Press release). IRB. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
- ^ "Super Rugby Profile: Hurricanes – Blade Thomson". Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
- ^ "Scotland: Blade Thomson, Sam Skinner and Sam Johnson in Autumn Tests squad". BBC. 17 October 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
- ^ Rugby, Scottish (24 August 2019). "Special moment for Blade Thomson receiving his @scotlandteam shirt for his debut today #AsOnepic.twitter.com/4KUZ9nd8C1".
- ^ "5 players from Ngāti Porou named in "Maori All Blacks"". Ngāti Porou East Coast. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
External links
edit- Blade Thomson at ItsRugby.co.uk
- Blade Thomson at ESPNscrum
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