page_title: Kieran Read
section_title: Early years
hierarchical_section_title: Kieran Read / All Blacks / Early years
caption_attribution_description: COUPE DU MONDE DE RUGBY 2011 NOUVELLE ZELANDE ARGENTINE
context_page_description: Kieran James Read ONZM is a New Zealand-born rugby union player, currently playing as a Number 8 for Toyota Verblitz in the Japanese Top League and is a former captain of the All Blacks, New Zealand's national rugby union team.
  Read played for New Zealand from 2008-2019 and is one of the most-capped players of all time, was the IRB Player of the Year in 2013 and a key member of 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cup winning teams, becoming one of only 20 players to have won multiple Rugby World Cups. Read Captained New Zealand 52 times in his career and is the second-to-most capped All Black Captain, after Richie McCaw.
  Read scored 26 tries during his international rugby career and is also the third-most-capped All Black in history, having played over 127 tests across his 11-year career for New Zealand.
  Read played for the Crusaders in the Super Rugby competition. Read also played for Canterbury, as Captain, in the Mitre 10 Cup.
context_section_description: Read was first selected for the All Blacks for the end-of-season tour in 2008, making his debut in a 32-6 win against Scotland on 8 November. Read started at blindside flanker and played the full 80 minutes that match, which the All Blacks won 32-8. Read came off the bench for another three fixtures on the tour.
  In 2009 he was retained for the All Blacks' two-test series against France, starting in the first test which was lost by the All Blacks 22-27. Read started against France the following week at number 8, his preferred position and finished off the All Blacks' 14-10 win having played every minute of the series. Read started in tandem with Jerome Kaino as blindside flanker- this was a combination the All Blacks would continue to use for the better part of a decade. Read started another seven times in 2009 and became the All Blacks' first-choice number 8 that year, displacing the now retired 62-test veteran and former stand-in captain Rodney So'oialo from the starting team.
  Read scored his first international try for the All Blacks on 12 June 2010 when the team beat Ireland 66-28. Read's opposite Jamie Heaslip was red-carded, while Read ran rampant on the Irish defence. Read carried a heavy workload that year and started in all 14 tests for the All Blacks in 2010, being one of only two players to do so, with captain Richie McCaw also playing in all 14 tests. Read was the second-to-highest try-scoring All Black in 2010 and, second only to fullback Mils Muliaina who scored 7 tries in 2010. Read scored another 5 tries in 2010, scoring tries in wins against South Africa, Australia and England. Read finished his 2010 season with world-class performances against Ireland and Wales, scoring the first double of his career in a 38-18 win over Ireland. Read was named New Zealand Rugby Player of the Year, being chosen over Richie McCaw who was named World Rugby's Player of the Year for the third time and second year running.
  Read was named in the All Blacks' 30-man squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, which was hosted by New Zealand. He played in four of the team's seven matches – the pool game against Canada, the quarter-final against Argentina, the semi-final against Australia, and the final against France. The All Blacks became world champions for the second time by beating France 8-7 in the final.
caption: Read scoring a try at the 2011 Rugby World Cup
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