Zachary Robert Guildford (born 8 February 1989) is a 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 who plays for

Waikato Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton City ...

in the

Mitre 10 Cup The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in t ...

. A wing, he has won 11 caps for the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks, including during their victorious

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

campaign. He initially signed with the

Tasman Rugby Union The Tasman Rugby Union is the governing body for rugby union in Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere, a bay at the north end of the South Island in New Zealand. Headquartered in Nelson, TRU is New Zealand's newest provincial union, founded in 2006 with ...

for the

2016 Mitre 10 Cup The 2016 Mitre 10 Cup season was the eleventh season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on August 18, when North Harbour hosted Counties Manukau. It involved the ...

season, but the Union and Guildford agreed to part ways before the start of the season. In

Super Rugby 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 ...

, he most recently played for the

New South Wales Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby competition. The Riverina and other southern parts of the state, ...

, having previously played for the and the , in the

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

competition for French side

Clermont Auvergne Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne () is a French rugby union club from Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes that currently competes in Top 14, the top level of the French league system. Clermont are two times French ...

and in the New Zealand domestic

ITM Cup ITM may stand for: Education * ITM Global School, an English medium co-educational day school in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India * ITM Law School, one of the professional graduate schools of ITM University * ITM-IFM, Mumbai, India * Institut Tekn ...

for . He was selected 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 ...

' end of year tour in 2009; the 2010 and 2012 Steinlager Series; and the

2011 Tri Nations Series The 2011 Tri Nations Series was the sixteenth annual Tri Nations rugby union series between the national rugby union teams of New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, respectively nicknamed the All Blacks, Wallabies and Springboks. It was also t ...

Biography

Guildford was born in Greytown, New Zealand. He is the son of Deborah and Robert Guildford. He has one younger brother, Victor. When Guildford was 10 years old, his family moved to Napier,

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is ...

, where he went through the rugby academy system. He attended

Napier Boys' High School Napier Boys' High School is a secondary boys' school in, Napier, New Zealand. It currently has a school roll of approximately pupils. The school provides education from Year 9 to Year 13. Notable alumni Business * Rod Drury – chief execu ...

. Zac's inclusion in the New Zealand All Blacks came after a remarkable national representative career with New Zealand Secondary Schools, New Zealand Under 19 and two seasons with the New Zealand Under 20.

International career

Guildford first represented

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 ...

at the U19 World Cup in 2007. He then represented

at the JWC in 2008. In his final season at International age grade level the following year, Guildford again played for

, in that year's JWC hosted in Japan. Tragically, his father Robert died suddenly shortly after the conclusion of the Final against England. Guildford was first selected for the All Blacks for the end of year tour in 2009 and was the youngest player in the squad. He made his All Blacks debut against Wales on 7 November 2009 at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. In 2010 he was selected for the Steinlager Series. Guildford was selected for the All Blacks tri-nations squad the following year and was later selected in the 30-man All Blacks

squad, though he did not play until New Zealand's final pool match of the tournament, where he contributed four tries to the All Blacks' 79–15 victory over

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Guildford was then recalled into the All Blacks for the three test Ireland series where he played two more tests on the right wing.

Super Rugby

After a strong season with

in the

Air New Zealand Cup The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

, Guildford was chosen for the

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

2008 season. Guildford managed to play six matches in the

2008 Super 14 season The 2008 Super 14 season started in February 2008 with pre-season matches held from mid-January. It finished on 31 May, when the Crusaders won their seventh Super Rugby title with a 20–12 victory over the Waratahs in front of the Crusaders' ...

(even though he broke his arm pre-season), starting all of these matches except his first match against the

Stormers The Stormers (known for sponsorship reasons as the DHL Stormers) is a South African professional rugby union team based in Cape Town in the Western Cape that competes in the United Rugby Championship, a trans-hemispheric competition that also ...

. Guildford also managed to score three tries in his first season. In 2009 he played in 10 matches, most of them as a starter, scoring 4 tries. In 2009 he was secured by the Crusaders for the 2010 season. Guildford signed for the NSW Waratahs for the 2016 super rugby season.

Hawke's Bay

Guildford was one of the youngest players to play in the

. He made his debut for

in 2007 when he was only 18. Being the youngest player in the squad didn't stop him though, as he managed to play in twelve of the provinces matches in a year that they made the semi-finals. Guildford also managed to run in five tries for the season, two coming in the 30–26 win over

. Guildford went on to be one of the leading try scorers in 2009 with 13 tries, most of them through his trade mark kick and chase. Guildford was part of the Hawke's Bay team that won the

2015 ITM Cup Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album ...

championship, though he did not play in the final.

Clermont Auvergne

In January 2014, it was announced that he signed a contract for two years (with the option of a third) with French

side

. Initially, he was supposed to join them at the conclusion of the

2014 Super Rugby season The 2014 Super Rugby season is the fourth season of the 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition involving teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. For sponsorship reasons, this competition is known as Asteron Life Super Rugby ...

, but in May 2014, he was given an early release from his contract by the .

Sevens

Guildford was included in the New Zealand sevens squad that competed in the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...

in New Delhi. They won the Gold Medal against Australia.

Controversies

On 11 November 2011, Guildford was cited in

Rarotonga Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands. The island is volcanic, with an area of , and is home to almost 75% of the country's population, with 13,007 of a total population of 17,434. The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings a ...

, where he was accused of drunken naked assaults during an alcohol-fuelled series of incidents. He has since apologised for his actions and admitted to alcoholism. In April 2021, Guildford dropped an appeal to keep his name suppressed in court after he pleaded guilty to punching a woman in the face in 2019. In March 2022, Guildford has been sentenced to nine months’ community detention for two separate fraud charges involving family and friends.

References

External links

*
ESPN ProfileHurricanes profile

Zac Guildford interview on The Rock radio station
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guildford, Zachary 1989 births Living people New Zealand international rugby union players Hurricanes (rugby union) players Crusaders (rugby union) players Hawke's Bay rugby union players New Zealand rugby union players Rugby union wings Māori All Blacks players People educated at Napier Boys' High School Ngāti Kahungunu people Ngāi Tahu people People from Greytown, New Zealand New Zealand expatriate rugby union players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate rugby union players in France ASM Clermont Auvergne players New Zealand international rugby sevens players Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games medallists in rugby sevens Rugby sevens players at the 2010 Commonwealth Games