Ronald Te Huia Cribb (born 7 July 1976) is a former 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. A loose forward, the 1.94 m, 110 kg Cribb 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 mainly played number eight.

Early life

Cribb was born in Whanganui, but was raised in

Taihape Taihape is in the Rangitikei District of the North Island of New Zealand. It serves a large rural community. State Highway 1, which runs North to South through the centre of the North Island, passes through the town. History and culture Early ...

. His mother left when he was 3.5 years old, and has been troubled by alcohol-related violence. His father, James, died in May, 2011. He befriended

Troy Flavell Troy Vandem Flavell (born 4 November 1976 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. Flavell won 22 caps for New Zealand, and mainly played lock. He is known for his power in the scrum. He attended Massey High School a ...

and looked to his family as parental figures. He was expelled from Rutherford High School due to anger issues.

Career

Cribb last played professionally in Japan for

Kobelco Steelers The Kobelco Kobe Steelers are a Japanese rugby union team owned by Kobe Steel, and based in Kobe. They were the first ever Top League champions when the League started in the 2003-2004 season. The team rebranded as Kobelco Kobe Steelers ahead of ...

. He joined from the North Harbour province. During his time with North Harbour, Cribb played alongside fellow former All Black

, who was also Cribb's teammate in the

Massey High School Massey High School is a co-educational state secondary school in West Auckland, New Zealand established in 1969. The school is located on the western edge of the city, thus obtaining students from both suburban and rural backgrounds. In 2017 it w ...

1st XV and for the

Massey Massey may refer to: Places Canada * Massey, Ontario * Massey Island, Nunavut New Zealand * Massey, New Zealand, an Auckland suburb United States * Massey, Alabama * Massey, Iowa * Massey, Maryland People * Massey (surname) Educati ...

Premier side. Both got their first All Blacks call-ups on the same day. Cribb played 16 games 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 ...

, 34

Super 12 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 ...

games for the Auckland Blues and 41 games for North Harbour. He also played 6 games for New Zealand Māori. In 2010, his career ended when he suffered a broken neck in Japan as a result of a collapsed

maul A maul may refer to any number of large hammers, including: * War hammer, a medieval weapon * Post maul, a type of sledgehammer * Spike maul, railroad hand tool * Splitting maul, heavy wood-splitting tool resembling both axe and hammer People ...

. In 2020, he was in the ''Match Fit'' squad with fellow alumni against

New Zealand Barbarians The New Zealand Barbarians, nicknamed the "Baa-Baas", are an invitational rugby union team. They have been a part of New Zealand rugby since the team was founded in 1937 by two ex-All Blacks, Ronald Bush and Hubert McLean, who captained their fi ...

, but was ruled out of the match as the prolapsed cervical disc neck injury had not fully healed. He returned to Match Fit for season 2 in 2021/22 (aired in June 2022), but revealed that his starting weight and total cholesterol levels were higher than the beginning of season 2, as he was recovering from torn Achilles when playing

touch rugby Touch rugby refers to games derived from rugby football in which players do not tackle each other but instead touch their opponents using their hands on any part of the body, clothing, or the ball. A formal, competitive variety, known as Tou ...

, and also just recovered from non-

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...

. He remained as a touch-rugby-only reserve player, and emergency assistant coach when Graham Henry was unwell due to illness in season 2. Cribb is a castaway on the 2022 series of the New Zealand reality television show ''Celebrity Treasure Island''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cribb, Ron 1976 births Living people Māori All Blacks players New Zealand international rugby union players New Zealand rugby union players Rugby union number eights Kobelco Kobe Steelers players Expatriate rugby union players in Japan North Harbour rugby union players Crusaders (rugby union) players Blues (Super Rugby) players People educated at Massey High School Expatriate rugby union players in Italy New Zealand expatriate rugby union players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Italy New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Japan Rugby union players from Whanganui Participants in New Zealand reality television series