Geoffrey Cridge (born 6 February 1995) 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 ...

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 lock or loose forward for in the French

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

competition. He previously played for in New Zealand's domestic National Provincial Championship as well as the and the in

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 ...

Early career

Born and raised in the city of

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 / ...

, Cridge was educated at the prestigious Christchurch Boys' High School where he played first XV rugby for 2 years. During his high school years, he also represented at under-15, under-16 and under-18 level before heading north to after graduation to start playing club rugby for Hastings.

Senior career

After initially being a member of the development and under-20 sides, Cridge graduated to the senior team to make one appearance during the

2014 ITM Cup Fourteen or 14 may refer to: * 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15 * one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014 Music * 14th (band), a British electronic music duo * ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013 *''14'', an unrele ...

. Injury ruled him out of the Magpies promotion winning season of

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, but he bounced back 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 ...

to claim a place as a regular in the starting XV. Helped out by an injury to established lock

Michael Allardice Michael Allardice (born 19 October 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a lock for in New Zealand's domestic Mitre 10 Cup and the in the international Super Rugby competition. Early career Born in the rural town o ...

, Cridge stepped up to partner Hurricanes team-mate

Mark Abbott Mark Abbott (born 20 February 1991) is a New Zealand-born Japanese rugby union player who currently plays as a lock for Coca-Cola Red Sparks in Japan's Top League. Early career Born in Christchurch and raised in the small town of Darfield, ...

in the Magpies second row. He played all 10 of Hawke's Bay's games during the 2016 season and contributed 2 tries. During the following seasons, Cridge cemented himself in the Magpies' starting line-up. During the

2020 Mitre 10 Cup The 2020 Mitre 10 Cup season was the fifteenth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on September 11, when North Harbour hosted Canterbury. It involved the top ...

season, the Magpies won the

Ranfurly Shield The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Shield is based on a challenge system. The holding union must defend the shield in challeng ...

(taking it off ), were successful in three more Ranfurly Shield defences (against , and ), and won the Mitre 10 Cup Championship, thus securing a well-deserved promotion to the Premiership division. The Magpies held on to the Shield during the entire

2021 Bunnings NPC The 2021 Bunnings NPC season was the sixteenth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on August 6, when Manawatu hosted Counties Manukau. It involved the top f ...

season, winning all six Ranfurly Shield defences.

Super Rugby

Cridge spent time with the

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

-based as part of their apprenticeship program in 2014 and made such a good impression that after only 1 domestic appearance for Hawke's Bay, new franchise head-coach Chris Boyd handed him a 3-year contract ahead of the

2015 Super Rugby season 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 ...

. Unsurprisingly, given his lack of experience and the amount of talent on the Hurricanes books, he didn't make any senior appearances through 2015. He did manage to get on the field for his Super Rugby debut in

, as a substitute in a 42–20 win over South African side on 25 March 2016. It would prove to be his only appearance of the campaign, but his team were in great form during the year and with

Michael Fatialofa Michael Fatialofa (born 14 September 1992) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a lock for Worcester Warriors in the Premiership. Early career Born in Auckland, Fatialofa was educated at Mount Albert Grammar School in h ...

and

Vaea Fifita Vaea Tangitau Lapota Fifita (born 17 June 1992) is a Tongan Rugby Union, rugby union player who currently plays for the Scarlets. Previously he was a Lock (rugby union), lock or Flanker (rugby union), loose forward for the in the international ...

nailing down the two second row jerseys, it was hard for the youngster to break into a side that went on to be crowned Super Rugby champions following a 20–3 victory over the in the final. Despite several strong seasons for in the following years, Cridge had to wait until 2022 for a new

contract. While not announced in their original squad, he was announced as a reinforcement of the squad for the

2022 Super Rugby Pacific season The 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season (known as Harvey Norman Super Rugby Pacific in Australia and DHL Super Rugby Pacific in New Zealand) is the 27th season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams fr ...

on 21 January 2022. He made his debut for the Waratahs on 18 February 2022 in their round 1 game against

Fijian Drua The Fijian Drua (currently known as the Swire, Swire Shipping Fijian Drua for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby union team based in Fiji that competes in the Super Rugby. The team was created by the Fiji Rugby Union and launched in ...

Move to France

On 22 June 2022, it was announced that Cridge had signed with 2021–22 Pro D2 champions for two seasons. He made his

debut for the French club on 1 October 2022 against and played his first

EPCR Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...

game for the side on 11 December 2022 against Scarlets.

International career

Cridge was a member of the New Zealand Under-20 sides that competed in the

2014 IRB Junior World Championship The 2014 IRB Junior World Championship was the seventh annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. The event was organised in Auckland, New Zealand by rugby's governing body, World Rugby, then known as the Internation ...

in his home country and the

2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship The 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship was the eighth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. The event was organised for the second time in Italy by rugby's governing body, World Rugby. Twelve nations played i ...

in Italy. He played four times as New Zealand finished 3rd in 2014 and then scored a try in his only appearance in the title-winning side of 2015.

Career Honours

New Zealand Under-20 * World Rugby Under 20 Championship -

Hurricanes *

Hawke's Bay Magpies * ITM Cup Championship -

* Mitre 10 Cup Championship -

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

Super Rugby Statistics

References

External links

itsrugby.co.uk profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cridge, Geoff 1995 births Living people People educated at Christchurch Boys' High School New Zealand rugby union players Rugby union players from Christchurch Rugby union locks Hawke's Bay rugby union players Hurricanes (rugby union) players New South Wales Waratahs players Aviron Bayonnais players