Rory Arnold (born 1 July 1990) is an Australian professional rugby union player. He played for the

Stade Toulousain Stade Toulousain () ( oc, Estadi Tolosenc), also referred to as Toulouse, is a professional rugby union club based in Toulouse, France. They compete in the Top 14, France's top division of rugby, and the European Rugby Champions Cup. Toulou ...

in the Top 14 competition, and has represented in test matches. His regular position is lock.

Family and early life

Rory Arnold and his identical twin

Richie Richie or Richy is a masculine given name or short form (hypocorism) of Richard. It is also a surname. First name *Richie Ashburn (1927–1997), American Major League Baseball player, member of the Hall of Fame *Richie Benaud (1930–2015), Austra ...

were born in Wagga Wagga, Australia. Their father Tony was stationed there while in the army. The brothers were raised in Murwillumbah in northern New South Wales where they both played junior rugby league until aged 16. In 2010, Rory joined the Murwillumbah rugby club where he played for two seasons before being scouted by the Gold Coast Breakers. (now Bond University Rugby Club). The brothers have

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

heritage on their mothers side

Rugby career

Arnold played Premier Rugby for the Breakers in 2013 and was selected in the Combined New South Wales–Queensland Country side that faced the British & Irish Lions during their 2013 tour to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, coming on as a late substitute. He joined South African side for the

2013 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2013 Currie Cup Premier Division was the 75th season in the competition since it started in 1889 and was contested from 10 August to 26 October 2013. The tournament (known as the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division for sponsorship reasons) was t ...

competition. Arnold scored a try in his opening match and was accused of biting a defender when scoring it. He was initially suspended but the charge was overturned and annulled on appeal. Arnold underwent a shoulder reconstruction and sat out most of the 2014 season before joining the

University of Canberra Vikings The Canberra Vikings, formerly the Canberra Kookaburras, is an Australian rugby union football team that competes in the National Rugby Championship (NRC). The team is based at Viking Park in Wanniassa, and is backed by the Tuggeranong Viking ...

in the inaugural National Rugby Championship. He was included in the squad for 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 ...

. He made his debut in the Brumbies season-opening match against the , starting in their 47–3 victory in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. , Arnold was among the tallest players in Super Rugby, behind South African lock

JP du Preez Jean-Pierre du Preez (born 9 November 1994 in Florida, South Africa) is a South African rugby union player for the Glasgow Warriors in the United Rugby Championship. His regular position is lock. He previously played for the and Sale Sharks. Ca ...

at 1 cm taller. He leaves the Stade Toulousain in 2022 to continue his career in Japan.

Wallabies

In 2016, Arnold was named in 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 ...

preliminary 39-man squad for the 2016 series against England.Wallabies squad full of surprises
/ref> He played two tests in the series.

Super Rugby statistics

References

External links

on It's Rugby {{DEFAULTSORT:Arnold, Rory 1990 births Living people Australian rugby union players Australian expatriate rugby union players Australian expatriate sportspeople in South Africa Expatriate rugby union players in South Africa Griquas (rugby union) players Canberra Vikings players Rugby union locks ACT Brumbies players Australia international rugby union players New Zealand Māori rugby union players New Zealand rugby union players Rugby union players from Wagga Wagga Australian expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate rugby union players in France Stade Toulousain players Twin sportspeople Identical twins Australian twins