James Tucker (rugby union)

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James Tucker
Date of birth (1994-08-05) 5 August 1994 (age 29)
Place of birthChristchurch, New Zealand
Height1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)
Weight115 kg (18 st 2 lb; 254 lb)
SchoolSt Pius X College
St Bede's College
UniversityUniversity of Waikato
Rugby union career
Position(s) Lock / Loose forward
Current team Waikato
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014− Waikato 59 (40)
2016−2017 Chiefs 5 (0)
2017−2018 Zebre 4 (0)
2019 Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo 3 (0)
2021 Brumbies 6 (0)
2022-2023 Blues 23 (5)
Correct as of 16 July 2016
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014 New Zealand U20 5 (5)
Correct as of 5 October 2015

James Tucker (born 5 August 1994) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a lock or loose forward for Waikato in New Zealand's domestic Mitre 10 Cup.[1][2][3][4]

Early career[edit]

Born in Christchurch, Tucker moved to Sydney, Australia while he was a primary school student, but moved back to the land of his birth during high school and attended St Bede's College in his home town where he played first XV rugby.[4] He moved north to Hamilton after graduating from high school and started playing club rugby for the Hamilton Marist club in Waikato's Club Rugby competition.[1][5]

Senior career[edit]

Tucker was first named in the Waikato squad for the 2014 ITM Cup, however due to knee and shoulder injuries, he didn't get any game time during the season and had to wait until the following year for his provincial debut. He played 9 times for Waikato in a season in which they claimed the Ranfurly Shield and he was named as Waikato Supporters Club forward of the year.[4] 2016 proved to be another tough year for him, with an ACL knee injury sustained in week 2 against North Harbour ruling him out for the rest of the year.[2][6]

Super Rugby[edit]

Having been a member of the Chiefs development squad and trained with their first team in 2015, Tucker was promoted to the franchise's wider training group for the 2016 Super Rugby season. He made 4 substitute appearances in a campaign which saw the men from Hamilton reach the competition's semi-finals before going down to New Zealand rivals and eventual champions, the Hurricanes. Despite injury ruining his 2016 domestic season, he was named as a full squad member for 2017.[3]

International[edit]

Tucker was a member of the New Zealand Under-20 side which finished in 3rd place in the 2014 IRB Junior World Championship in his home country.[7][8]

Super Rugby Statistics[edit]

As of 11 December 2016[2]
Season Team Games Starts Sub Mins Tries Cons Pens Drops Points Yel Red
2016 Chiefs 4 0 4 61 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 4 0 4 61 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Cricket[edit]

In addition to being a fine rugby player in high school, Tucker also played cricket, representing Canterbury at age group level and New Zealand at under-19 level.[5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "James Tucker Waikato Player Profile". Mooloo Rugby. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  2. ^ a b c "James Tucker itsrugby.co.uk Player Statistics". itsrugby.co.uk. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Chiefs 2017 Squad Guide" (PDF). All Blacks.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 May 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  4. ^ a b c "James Tucker Chiefs Player Profile". Chiefs Rugby. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Perseverance paying off for Waikato lock James Tucker". Rugby Heaven. 1 September 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  6. ^ "Waikato forward James Tucker ruled out for the season with serious knee injury". Rugby Heaven. 30 August 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  7. ^ "James Tucker All Blacks Player Profile". All Blacks.com. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  8. ^ "NZU20 squad named for IRB JWC2014". All Blacks.com. 23 April 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
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