Ryan Tamarua Nicholas (born 23 May 1979 in
Broken Hill, New South Wales,
Australia) is an Australian-born Japanese
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 ...
player who plays for
Suntory Sungoliath of the
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 ...
in Japan. In July 2011, he received Japanese citizenship. Although he is of
Cook Island Maori
Cook or The Cook may refer to:
Food preparation
* Cooking, the preparation of food
* Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food
* Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry
* ...
heritage, he has played internationally for
Japan since 2008.
Playing career
New Zealand
Born in Australia, Nicholas moved to
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
in his youth and attended
Tauranga Boys' College
, motto_translation = I take up the work and I carry it through
, coordinates =
, type = State Secondary school
, established = 1958
, MOE = 121
, principal = Andrew Turner
, decile = 6N
, years = 9 – 13
, upp ...
. He moved south to attend the
University of Otago
, image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg
, image_size =
, caption = University clock tower
, motto = la, Sapere aude
, mottoeng = Dare to be wise
, established = 1869; 152 years ago
, type = Public research collegiate ...
and made his provincial rugby debut for
Otago as a teenager in 1998.
By 2001, Nicholas was a key player in the Otago side and earned a contract with the
Highlanders for the
2002 Super 12 season
The 2002 Super 12 season was the seventh season of the Super 12, contested by teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The season ran from February to May 2002, with each team playing all the others once. At the end of the regular seas ...
. He would go on to have an outstanding debut season, starting all 12 contests and leading the side with 7 tries (one more than
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, ...
great
Jeff Wilson). His exploits helped the Highlanders to an 8-3 record and semi-finals berth.
Nicholas would be unable to play in the Highlanders squad for the 2005 Super 12 season as he signed with suntory sungoliath based in Tokyo Japan
Japan
In 2005, Nicholas joined 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 ...
club
Suntory Sungoliath. While his goal-kicking opportunities were limited in New Zealand, as he was behind
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, ...
Nick Evans and
Tony Brown in the pecking order for Otago and the Highlanders, he was given an opportunity in Japan to become his team's main kicking option, and by the 2006-07 season was the top points scorer in the Top League.
Nicholas signed with the
Queensland Reds
The Queensland Reds is the rugby union team for the Australian state of Queensland that competes in the Southern Hemisphere's Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996, they were a representative team selected from the rugby union club competitions ...
for the
2007 Super 14 season
The 2007 Super 14 season started in February 2007 with preseason matches held from mid-January. It finished on 19 May with the final at ABSA Stadium in Durban, in the first final between two South African teams in the history of Super Rugby. Th ...
, but the move fell through on the eve of the season and he chose to remain in Japan.
In the 2010-11 season, Nicholas scored 126 points in helping Suntory Sungoliath to their first
All-Japan Championship since 2001.
International play
As Nicholas had never represented New Zealand or Australia internationally, he qualified to play for Japan and was selected in February 2008 as a member of th
Japan national squad of 52 players
Nicholas has developed into a key player and one of the regular goal kickers (along with former Otago and Highlander teammate
James Arlidge
; born 11 August 1979) is a Japanese international rugby union player. He plays primarily at fly-half.
Club career
Unusually, he made his Super Rugby debut for the Auckland Blues, prior to making his first start in provincial rugby, making th ...
) for the Japanese squad, and earned his 25th cap against the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...
on 13 May 2011.
Nicholas retired from international rugby at the end of the 2012 season.
External links
Oceania Rugby Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholas, Ryan
1979 births
Japanese rugby union players
Australian people of Cook Island descent
Australian sportspeople of Polynesian descent
Australian people of Māori descent
New Zealand sportspeople of Cook Island descent
Japan international rugby union players
Japanese people of Cook Island descent
Japanese people of Māori descent
Māori All Blacks players
Highlanders (rugby union) players
Otago rugby union players
Tokyo Sungoliath players
Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars players
Cook Island Māori people
Australian emigrants to New Zealand
Australian emigrants to Japan
Living people
Expatriate rugby union players in Japan
Rugby union centres
Rugby union players from New South Wales