Greg Mardon Somerville is a New Zealand

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. He is a former

All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

and a specialised tighthead

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...

who can also play loosehead. Somerville made his All Black debut in 2000 against

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

, a match in which the All Blacks won 102–0. Somerville went 41 test matches before scoring his first, and only test try against

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

in 2005. Somerville played domestic rugby for

Canterbury Rugby Football Union The Canterbury Rugby Football Union (also referred to as "Canterbury" or "CRFU") is the governing body for rugby union in a portion of the Canterbury region of New Zealand. Its colours are red and black in a hooped design. The CRFU govern the ...

and for the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

in the

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 ...

competition, having played 100 matches for the latter after debuting against the Chiefs in 1999. Somerville's nickname is

Yoda Yoda () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' universe, first appearing in the 1980 film ''The Empire Strikes Back''. He is a small, green humanoid alien who is powerful with the Force and is a leading member of the Jedi Order until ...

, after the fictional character from

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

due to their resemblance. Somerville left New Zealand in late 2008, having signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with the

Guinness Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

team

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

. In 2010 he left Gloucester for the

Melbourne Rebels The Melbourne Rebels is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Melbourne. They made their debut in SANZAR's Super Rugby tournament in 2011. They were the first privately owned professional rugby union team in Australia, until 2017 ...

, with whom he spent the 2011 season before retiring. Somerville's sporting hero is

Buck Shelford Sir Wayne Thomas "Buck" Shelford (born 13 December 1957) is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer and coach who represented and captained New Zealand (the All Blacks) in the late 1980s. He is also credited with revitalising the performance ...

, who, he says, "was a tremendous leader for the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

and an outstanding front-rower."

Other

* Played 42 matches for New Zealand before scoring his first

try Try or TRY may refer to: Music Albums * ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio * ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs * "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987) * "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014) * "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004) * " Try (Ju ...

against

in 2005. This was an All Blacks record at the time for the most matches before scoring a point. * Played in six RWC 2003 matches. * Played a leadership role for the

in the

2011 Super Rugby season The 2011 Super Rugby season was the first season of the new 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition, which involved teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Including its past iterations as Super 12 and Super 14, this was the 16t ...

References

Sources

*''

SA Sports Illustrated ''SA Sports Illustrated'' was a South African sports magazine published in print monthly. History and profile Founded by Richard Whittingdale in 1985 as owner, founder and editor. The Swimwear edition also founded in 1985 by Richard. Richard ra ...

''. "My Hero: Four All Black rugby players reveal their sport heroes." October 2008: 35.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Somerville, Greg 1977 births New Zealand international rugby union players Canterbury rugby union players Crusaders (rugby union) players Living people New Zealand rugby union players Rugby union props Melbourne Rebels players People from Wairoa Gloucester Rugby players Expatriate rugby union players in England Expatriate rugby union players in Australia New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Australia New Zealand expatriate rugby union players Rugby union players from the Hawke's Bay Region