David Kidwell (born 23 April 1977) is a professional

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

who is the defence coach at

Los Pumas The Argentina national rugby union team (Spanish: ''Selección de rugby de Argentina'') represents Argentina in men's international rugby union; it is organised by the Argentine Rugby Union ( es, Unión Argentina de Rugby). Nicknamed the Pumas ...

, the national rugby union team of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, and a former rugby league player. As a player, he represented

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 ...

as a member of the

2005 Tri-Nations The majority of the 2005 Rugby League Tri-Nations was played in Great Britain and Australasia. The final was played between Australia and New Zealand at Elland Road on Saturday 26 November. New Zealand won the match 24-0 and were crowned 2005 Tri ...

and 2008 World Cup winning New Zealand teams. He primarily played as a , though he started his career as a .

Background

Kidwell was born in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, New Zealand.

Playing career

A Hornby Panthers junior in the

Canterbury Rugby League Canterbury Rugby League is the regional body that administers rugby league in Canterbury, New Zealand. CRL manages local competitions from senior level down to age group competitions. Canterbury Rugby League also manages the Canterbury rugby lea ...

competition, in 1995 Kidwell played in the

Lion Red Cup The Lion Red Cup was a New Zealand domestic rugby league competition that ran from 1994 to 1996 sponsored by brewers Lion Nathan. It was created due to the increase in public awareness of domestic rugby league due to the Auckland Warriors being a ...

for the

Canterbury Country Cardinals The Canterbury Country Cardinals were a New Zealand rugby league club that represented Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury in the Lion Red Cup from 1994 to 1996. They were administered by the Canterbury Rugby League. The Country Cardinals drew f ...

. He then joined the

Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilita ...

in 1996 and also made the 1996 Junior Kiwis that year. He made his First Grade début on 17 August 1997 in Round 17 for the

Adelaide Rams The Adelaide Rams were an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Adelaide, South Australia. The team was formed in 1995 for the planned rebel Super League competition. The Rams lasted two seasons, the first in the Super Le ...

against Canberra at Canberra Stadium. Kidwell was selected for the New Zealand team to compete in the end of season

1999 Rugby League Tri-Nations The 1999 Rugby League Tri-Nations series was contested by Australia, Great Britain and New Zealand in 1999. It was the first multi-national rugby league tournament to feature the sport's three world powers since the 1989–92 World Cup (the 19 ...

tournament. In the final against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

he played from the interchange bench in the Kiwis' 22–20 loss. In 2006 Kidwell signed a pre-contract agreement to represent the

South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen pla ...

until 2009. He later played in Melbourne's

2006 NRL Grand Final The 2006 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding match of the NRL's 2006 Telstra Premiership season. It was played between the first-placed Melbourne Storm and the third-placed Brisbane Broncos clubs on the night of Sunday, 1 ...

loss to Brisbane. Kidwell has previously played for the

Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm are a rugby league club based in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia that participates in the National Rugby League. The first fully professional rugby league team based in the state, the Storm entered the competition in 1998. ...

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won ...

Warrington Wolves The Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England, that competes in the Super League. They play rugby at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2004. Founded as Warrington Z ...

Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and their ...

and the

. In the 2007 pre-season, it was announced that Kidwell would be co-captain of the South Sydney Rabbitohs, along with Peter Cusack for 2007. In April 2007, Kidwell was ruled out for the season after suffering a freak accident at home where he tripped over one of his children and injured his knee. After failing an alcohol test on 2 May 2008, the Rabbitohs stripped Kidwell of his co-captaincy and four others who failed were relegated to the bench for their Sunday match against the Cowboys. At the end of 2007 Kidwell was named in the Melbourne Storm team of the decade. Kidwell retired from rugby league at the end of the 2009 season.

Representative career

Kidwell made his New Zealand début in 1999. David Kidwell

BENJI MARSHALL & DAVID KIDWELL (3036080554)

In August 2008, Kidwell was named in the New Zealand training squad for the

2008 Rugby League World Cup The 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup since its inauguration in 1954, and the first since the 2000 tournament. The tournament was held in Australia from 26 October, culminating in the final b ...

, and in October 2008, he was named in the final 24-man

Kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), a nickname for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible berry * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of currency Kiwi or KIWI may also refe ...

squad.

Coaching career

Kidwell was appointed the Rabbitohs Toyota Cup (Under 20s competition) coach for 2010. They finished minor premiers that year and made the Grand Final, but were defeated 42-28 by the Under 20s

New Zealand Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...

. He later worked as an assistant coach at the

under Craig Bellamy. On 16 September 2013 it was announced that he would be joining the

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional Rugby league, rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a j ...

in 2014 as an assistant coach. Kidwell joined the

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team (Māori: Tīma rīki motu Aotearoa) has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of ...

as an assistant coach in 2014. After Stephen Kearney left the role of being the head coach of the New Zealand national team in 2016, Kidwell was later appointed as the new Kiwis head coach, Kidwell oversaw a brief but embarrassing era for New Zealand Rugby League in which they lost two World Cup matches to tier-2 nations, and fluked a draw against another in the 2016 Four Nations tournament. A series of critical failures in team culture and management led to disappointing results and a mass exodus of players. One notable player to leave the team was Jason Taumololo. Taumololo defected to Tonga, who defeated New Zealand in a World Cup pool match. Kidwell was replaced by Michael Maguire after failing to make the semi-finals of the 2017 World Cup. In 2018, Kidwell was appointed as assistant coach at one of his former clubs The

. In May 2022 it was announced that Kidwell had been appointed defensive coach of the Argentina rugby union side, by head coach Michael Cheika.

Kiwis coaching record

References

External links

Profile at melbournestorm.com.auProfile at warringtonwolves.rivals.netFreak injury ends Kidwell seasonProfile at souths.com.au
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kidwell, David 1977 births Living people Adelaide Rams players Canterbury rugby league team players Hornby Panthers players Junior Kiwis players Melbourne Storm players Ngāti Whātua people New Zealand Māori rugby league team coaches New Zealand Māori rugby league team players New Zealand national rugby league team coaches New Zealand national rugby league team players Expatriate sportspeople in England New Zealand rugby league players Parramatta Eels players Rugby league centres Rugby league second-rows South Sydney Rabbitohs captains South Sydney Rabbitohs players Rugby league players from Christchurch Sydney Roosters players Warrington Wolves players