Craig Millar (born 29 October 1990) is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

-born

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player who currently plays as a loosehead prop for in New Zealand's domestic

Mitre 10 Cup The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in t ...

and previously for the

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

based

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

franchise the

Sunwolves The Sunwolves (Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or ...

Early career

Millar is a native of the

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

region in New Zealand's South Island, having been born and raised in the city of

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

. He attended the prestigious

Otago Boys' High School , motto_translation = "The ‘right’ learning builds a heart of oak" , type = State secondary, day and boarding , established = ; years ago , streetaddress= 2 Arthur Street , region = Dunedin , state = Otago , zipcod ...

in his hometown where he played first XV rugby before going on to study accounting at the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

. After graduating, he split his time working as an accountant with building a rugby career, initially playing for Pirates in Otago's local club rugby competition.

Senior career

Millar first broke into the squad for the

2013 ITM Cup Thirteen or 13 may refer to: * 13 (number), the natural number following 12 and preceding 14 * One of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, 2013 Music * 13AD (band), an Indian classic and hard rock band Albums * ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013 * ...

and enjoyed a standout debut season, earning 11 caps and scoring 1 try in the process as the Razorbacks reached the Championship semi-finals before going down to . Injury caused him to miss the entire 2014 New Zealand domestic season before he bounced back the following year playing in all 11 of Otago's games as they once again fell at the Championship semi-final stage, this time losing out 34-14 to . Otago and Millar were again in fine form in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, with the Razorbacks finishing top of the Championship log and making it all the way to the playoff final before being surprisingly defeated at home by while Millar was once again an ever-present playing 12 times, 9 of which were from the start and contributing a career high 3 season tries.

Super Rugby

Impressive performances for the Otago Razorbacks throughout the 2013 New Zealand domestic season brought Millar to the attention of local Super Rugby franchise, the , who included him in their wider training group for the

2014 Super Rugby season The 2014 Super Rugby season is the fourth season of the 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition involving teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. For sponsorship reasons, this competition is known as Asteron Life Super Rugby ...

. He made 4 substitute appearances during his first campaign with the Highlanders, not a bad return as he spent the year as the franchise's third choice loosehead behind the more experienced

Kane Hames Kane Seth Hames (born 28 August 1988) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. A prop, he played for the Chiefs and Highlanders in Super Rugby, and represented Tasman from 2015 to 2017 and from 2013 to 2014. He played ten matches for the ...

and Chris King. Unfortunately for him, all the momentum he had built up in his career through 2013 and the early part of 2014 came to a grinding halt when injury ruled him out of the 2014 New Zealand domestic season and the

2015 Super Rugby The 2015 Super Rugby season was the 20th season of Super Rugby and the fifth season featuring an expanded 15-team format. For sponsorship reasons, this competition was known as Asteron Life Super Rugby in Australia, Investec Super Rugby in New ...

season, meaning that Millar would play no part in the Highlanders maiden Super Rugby triumph. He did, however, make a comeback with Otago in the second half of 2015 which earned him a recall to the Highlanders wider training group for the 2016 season and this time serving as back up to

Daniel Lienert-Brown Daniel Lienert-Brown (born 9 February 1993) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a loosehead prop for in New Zealand's domestic Mitre 10 Cup and the in the international Super Rugby competition. Early career Born and ...

and

Brendon Edmonds Brendon Edmonds (born 28 November 1990) is a former New Zealand rugby union player who played as a prop for in the ITM Cup and the in Super Rugby. Career Hailing from the Hawke's Bay Region, Edmonds played during the 2006-2008 seasons for the ...

, he managed another 4 substitute appearances. Tony Brown replaced the bound

Jamie Joseph James Whitinui Joseph (born 21 November 1969) is a New Zealand-born Japanese former rugby union player and current rugby union coach. A flanker, Joseph represented Otago at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, ...

as Highlanders head-coach ahead of the

2017 Super Rugby season The 2017 Super Rugby season was the 22nd season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. It was the second season featuring an expand ...

and having worked with Millar before at provincial level, he saw fit to promote him to the franchise's senior squad ahead of his first campaign in charge. Jamie Joseph announced ahead of the

2018 Super Rugby season The 2018 Super Rugby season was the 23rd season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. After two seasons in which 18 teams participate ...

that Millar will join his Sunwolves squad alongside several former Highlanders teammates.

Super Rugby Statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Millar, Craig 1990 births Living people New Zealand rugby union players Rugby union props Otago rugby union players Highlanders (rugby union) players Rugby union players from Dunedin People educated at Otago Boys' High School University of Otago alumni Sunwolves players Saitama Wild Knights players Japan international rugby union players