Charles Luke McAlister (born 28 August 1983 in
Waitara) 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 it ...
footballer. He plays at
fly-half
In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...
and at
centre
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
* Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...
. He is the brother of
New Zealand women's sevens player
Kayla McAlister
Kayla Ahki (née McAlister; born 6 August 1988) is a New Zealand netball and rugby sevens player. She has previously played for the Northern Mystics in 2011, and was a training partner in 2012, and currently plays for the New Zealand women's n ...
and son of
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 players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...
footballer
Charlie McAlister
Charlie McAlister is a former Scotland national rugby league team, Scotland international rugby league footballer who played as a professional in England and Australia.
Playing career
McAlister played for the Newcastle Knights in 1988. He then ...
.
Career
![ST vs CO 2012-03-10 - 42 - Conversion kick by Luke McAlister](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/ST_vs_CO_2012-03-10_-_42_-_Conversion_kick_by_Luke_McAlister.jpg)
McAlister was born in Waitara, New Zealand, and attended
Westlake Boys High School
Westlake Boys High School is a state secondary school for boys located in Forrest Hill, Auckland, New Zealand. The school opened in 1962, when Westlake High School (opened 1958) split into Westlake Girls High School on the existing site and We ...
, where he played first five-eighth. He played for
Silverdale in the North Harbour premier competition before making his provincial debut for
North Harbour in 2002 and
Super Rugby debut for the
Blues in 2004. He made his international debut for New Zealand aged 21, versus the
British and Irish Lions
The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...
in 2005.
In June 2006, his father,
Charlie, resigned his position as head coach of the
Manawatu team in the Air New Zealand Cup. Charlie McAlister is a former
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 players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...
footballer, and Luke McAlister lived in the Manchester area from the age of four to 13 while his father played rugby league for
Oldham
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham ...
,
Castleford
Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the town centre the River Calder joins th ...
and the
Sheffield Eagles, during which time Luke was a member of the
Manchester United Academy.
Following the announcement of his inclusion in 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, ...
squad for the
2007 Rugby World Cup, it was announced on 23 July 2007 that McAlister would be joining
Guinness Premiership side
Sale Sharks after the World Cup on a two-year deal. It was also reported that he had turned down offers from both
Munster and
Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...
to join Sale.
McAlister played in four of the All Blacks' five matches at the 2007 Rugby World Cup, including the 20–18 quarter-final loss to
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, in which he was controversially sent to the sin bin for an obstruction. France converted the resulting penalty, and the sin-binning was cited by many New Zealand fans as one of the reasons why their team lost the match. Over the course of the tournament, McAlister accumulated a total of 17 points.
In 2009 after two seasons with
Sale in the
Guinness Premiership, McAlister returned to New Zealand, where he re-signed with
North Harbour and the
Blues, with the intention of regaining his place in the national side. He appeared 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, ...
as a substitute for
Stephen Donald against
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
in Wellington on 20 June 2009.
From August 2011, McAlister played for
Stade Toulousain in France's
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 ...
championship.
On his first season with Toulouse, he won the
Bouclier de Brennus
The Bouclier de Brennus, or Brennus Shield in English, is a trophy awarded to the winners of the French rugby union domestic league.
The shield was not named, as it is often believed, after the famous Gallic warrior Brennus but rather artist Ch ...
. He played a crucial role in it, scoring all of his team's points during both semi-final and final.
On 12 May 2017, McAlister left Toulouse to sign for former Top 14 champions
Toulon
Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
ahead of the 2017–18 season.
References
External links
Sale profile*
1983 births
Living people
Blues (Super Rugby) players
Expatriate rugby union players in England
Expatriate rugby union players in France
Māori All Blacks players
New Zealand expatriate rugby union players
New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England
New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in France
New Zealand international rugby union players
New Zealand rugby union players
North Harbour rugby union players
People educated at Westlake Boys High School
Rugby union centres
Rugby union fly-halves
Rugby union players from Waitara, New Zealand
Sale Sharks players
Shimizu Koto Blue Sharks players
Stade Toulousain players
World Rugby Awards winners
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