Richard Kingi (born 17 March 1989 in
Tauranga
Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...
,
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 ...
) is an
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal A ...
professional
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.
While his usual position is
half back, he often plays on the
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 ...
and sometimes at fullback.
Career
Brought up in
Te Puke near the Bay of Plenty, Kingi's family moved to Australia when he was 15 years old.
He played for Sunnybank rugby club, before going onto representative football that included the Queensland U19s, U20s, the IRB Junior World Championships and the Australian Sevens. He travelled with the Wallabies spring tour of Japan and Great Britain in 2009, and made his Wallabies debut against the
Cardiff Blues.
In 2009–10 Kingi was reserve halfback for 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 ...
, behind
Will Genia
Sanchez William Genia (born 17 January 1988) is a professional rugby union player, currently playing scrum-half for the Kintetsu Liners in Japan. He had previously played Super Rugby for the Queensland Reds (2007–2015) and Melbourne Rebel ...
. He signed a two-year deal with the
Melbourne Rebels
The Melbourne Rebels is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Melbourne. They made their debut in SANZAR's Super Rugby tournament in 2011. They were the first privately owned professional rugby union team in Australia, until 2017 ...
in March 2010, and in 2011 his competitors for the Rebels halfback role were
Nick Phipps, and former Wallaby
Sam Cordingley.
In October 2010, Kingi was named as one of 12 uncapped players in the Wallabies' 40-man squad to train for its tour of Hong Kong and Europe. When he wasn't required for Wallabies training he travelled to
Lorne to be part of the Rebels' pre-season team-building activities.
Griffith university colleges knights
As of the 2019 season Kingi has signed on as Backs coach and Fly Half for the Knights in the Gold Coast District Rugby Union competition. As of 18 May he has led them to 6 wins from 6 appearances.
He has also been instrumental in the Knights Women's 7's program acting as Coach and Mentor for the girls.
Personal life and relatives
Kingi and his wife Sharna are parents of five children. His cousin
Tanerau Latimer is a
Chiefs flanker, New Zealand Maori representative
and former All Black.
References
External links
* Richard King
Melbourne Rebels profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingi, Richard
1989 births
Australian rugby union players
Melbourne Rebels players
Queensland Reds players
Stade Français players
Rugby union scrum-halves
Rugby union wings
Rugby union fullbacks
New Zealand emigrants to Australia
Expatriate rugby union players in France
People educated at Keebra Park State High School
People from Te Puke
Living people
Australian expatriate rugby union players
Expatriate rugby union players in Russia
Yenisey-STM Krasnoyarsk players
Rugby union players from Tauranga