Nicholas Mark Cummins (born 5 October 1987), known by his nickname The Honey Badger, is an Australian former professional rugby union player and television personality. He played for the

Western Force The Western Force is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Perth, Western Australia, currently competing in Super Rugby Pacific. They previously played in Super Rugby from 2006 until they were axed from the competition in 2017. F ...

in Super Rugby and for Coca-Cola Red Sparks in the Japanese

Top League Japan Rugby League One (formerly the Top League) is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by absorbing the ...

. Cummins has represented Australia in international matches for both the

Australian Sevens The Australia Sevens is an international rugby sevens tournament that was first played in 1986. Currently hosted as the Sydney Sevens, the event is part of the World Rugby Sevens Series. The tournament was held in Brisbane, in Adelaide, and o ...

team and the Australian rugby team. His usual position was

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is e ...

. Cummins is also known by his nickname The Honey Badger, bestowed on him after he drew inspiration from the fierce nature of the

honey badger The honey badger (''Mellivora capensis''), also known as the ratel ( or ), is a mammal widely distributed in Africa, Southwest Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. Because of its wide range and occurrence in a variety of habitats, it is liste ...

and attempted to think like the animal in defence. He is also well known for starring in the sixth season of '' The Bachelor Australia''.

Early life

Cummins was born in

Port Macquarie Port Macquarie is a coastal town in the local government area of Port Macquarie-Hastings. It is located on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. The town is located on the Tasman Sea c ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. One of eight siblings, he identifies as a Queenslander as he was raised in

Logan City Logan City is a local government area situated within the south of the Brisbane metropolitan area in South East Queensland, Australia. Situated between the City of Brisbane to the north and the City of Gold Coast to the south, the City als ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

's south by his father Mark Cummins, who was a single dad. He attended St Francis' College in Crestmead, where he starred in the swimming pool and on the athletics track, as well as on the rugby field. In 2005, Cummins represented

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

at the Australian Schools Rugby Championships in Canberra. He moved to Sydney in 2006, where he joined the Randwick rugby club and played for their grand final-winning Colts side that year.

Rugby career

In 2007, Cummins was selected for the

squad and he was the top try scorer for the team at the IRB Sevens World Series. Later that year, he moved to

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

after signing a two-year contract with the

. Cummins played for the

Perth Spirit Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is p ...

team that reached the semi-final stage of the

Australian Rugby Championship The Australian Rugby Championship, often abbreviated to the ARC and also known as the Mazda Australian Rugby Championship for sponsorship purposes, is a now-defunct domestic professional men's rugby union football competition in Australia, which ...

in 2007. He made his Super Rugby debut for the

in 2008, starting in the first round against the

Sharks Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimorp ...

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

. In 2009, Cummins was invited to the

Wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and so ...

training camp prior to the northern Spring Tour, although injury prevented his involvement on that tour. In 2010, he was selected for the Australian Barbarians and played in two home matches against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He was then selected in Australia's 28-man squad that travelled to South Africa as part of the 2010 Tri-Nations series, although he wasn't required to play. Later that year, Cummins went to the Commonwealth Games Sevens tournament in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

, where he played in Australia's silver medal-winning team. In 2012, Cummins was selected for the Australia squad for the inaugural Rugby Championship. He made his Test debut on 6 October 2012, and played on the wing in the Wallabies 25–19 win over

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 ...

in Rosario. On 4 July 2014 it was announced that Cummins would be released early from his Western Force and Australian Rugby Union contracts on compassionate grounds. He announced he would be moving to Japan due to health concerns in his family. He signed a new contract with Japanese club the Coca-Cola Red Sparks. In 2016, Cummins won his first Championship outside of junior rugby when he came on as a non-scoring substitute in the final of the amateur Norwegian Rugby Union Championship for

Stavanger RK Stavanger Rugby Klubb is a Norwegian rugby & league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Spo ...

in their win against

Oslo RK Oslo Rugbyklubb is a Norwegian 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) *** Whe ...

Television and advertising roles

Because of Cummins' broad

Australian accent Australian English (AuE) is a non-rhotic variety of English spoken by most native-born Australians. Phonologically, it is one of the most regionally homogeneous language varieties in the world. Australian English is notable for vowel length contr ...

and very Australian attitude, he has featured in several ad campaigns as an "Aussie Larrikin" character. Cummins has been the face of Tradie underwear and workwear for men since August 2015, as well as featuring in small TV campaigns for

Head & Shoulders Head & Shoulders (H&S) is an American brand of anti-dandruff and non-dandruff shampoo produced by parent company Procter & Gamble. It was introduced in the United States on 1 January 1961 based in Manhattan and used the slogan THE AMERICA AND WORL ...

shampoo in 2014 and beer company Iron Jack over Christmas in late 2017. In October 2017, he was an ambassador for

Tourism Australia Tourism Australia is the Australian Government agency responsible for promoting Australian locations as business and leisure travel destinations. The agency is part of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and employs 187 staff (includ ...

, in a campaign which also featured Australian actor

Lincoln Lewis Lincoln Clay Lewis (born 24 October 1987) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his roles in the movie '' Tomorrow, When the War Began'' and in the television series ''Home and Away'' and '' Slide''. Early life Lewis was born in Brisbane, ...

. Cummins playfully took aim at Tourism Australia ambassador,

Chris Hemsworth Christopher Hemsworth (born 11 August 1983) is an Australian actor. He rose to prominence playing Kim Hyde in the Australian television series ''Home and Away'' (2004–2007) before beginning a film career in Hollywood. In the Marvel Cinemat ...

, defending claims he was not as big a name as the Hollywood-based Australian actor. Nick is also the presenter of the National Geographic program ''Meanwhile In Australia''. A documentary series in which he travels around Australia gathering stories of people and places along the road. On 14 March 2018, it was confirmed by Network Ten that Cummins would star in the sixth season of '' The Bachelor Australia'' in 2018. Cummins appeared as one of the hosts for Team Australia on the third season of ''

Ultimate Beastmaster ''Ultimate Beastmaster'' is an American sports entertainment reality show competition that premiered on Netflix on February 24, 2017. The show differentiates itself from other obstacle course competition shows by showcasing not only international ...

'', a

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

original series. In 2020, it was announced Cummins would be participating the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australia ...

's reality program '' SAS Australia''. Cummins was one of three recruits to pass selection along with

Merrick Watts Merrick Watts (born 18 November 1973) is an Australian comedian, radio and television presenter. He is best known for performing stand-up comedy and radio works as part of the comedy duo Merrick and Rosso with Tim Ross. Career Stand up Watts ...

and Sabrina Frederick. 2023 saw Cummins entering the South African jungle as a late arrival on the 9th season of '' I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! Australia''. Cummins was eliminated 4th on 20 April 2023.

Publications

* * *

Super Rugby statistics

References

External links

Official website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cummins, Nick 1987 births Australian rugby union players Australia international rugby union players Western Force players Rugby union centres Rugby union wings Living people Coca-Cola Red Sparks players Australian expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in Japan Australia international rugby sevens players Australian expatriate sportspeople in Japan Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia Rugby sevens players at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Male rugby sevens players Commonwealth Games medallists in rugby sevens Commonwealth Games rugby sevens players of Australia Sportspeople from Logan, Queensland Bachelor Nation contestants Rugby union players from New South Wales Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games