Rodney Blake (born 29 April 1983) is an Australian professional rugby union footballer. He played as a prop in Super Rugby for the Queensland Reds and Melbourne Rebels, and played for Bayonne in the Top 14 in France. He is sometimes referred to as Rodzilla. Blake made his debut for the Wallabies in 2006.
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| Birth name | Rodney Blake | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 29 April 1983 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Sa'aveki, Tonga[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 132 kg (20 st 11 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Homebush Boys High | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Early life
editRodney Blake was born in Sa'aveki, Tonga. His father Paul is a former Otago flanker and moved his family to Sydney when Rodney was 13. The young Blake played rugby for the West Harbour RFC juniors and was educated at Homebush Boys High School.[2] He was a member of the Australian Schools side,[2] and he represented Australia under-21 world cup in Scotland.[3]
Career
editHe made his Queensland Reds Super Rugby debut against the Otago Highlanders . He was a regular in the Reds' line-up during the 2006 Super 14 season. He was named in John Connolly's Wallaby side, and made his test debut against England at Telstra Stadium, playing the full 80 minutes. In the closing minutes of the match Blake charged over to score the final try of the game which saw Australia win 34 to 3. He was injured in the subsequent victory over England, and thus missed the following match against Ireland. Blake missed the opening matches of the 2006 Tri Nations Series but played for the Wallabies in a Bledisloe Cup match against the All Blacks in Brisbane.
In October 2006, he was named the Reds "Player of the Year" and awarded the Pilecki Medal.[4] In 2009, after failing to secure a Super 14 contract in Australia, Blake moved to France and spent two seasons in the French Top 14 competition.[5][6]
In 2010 Blake returned to Australia, joining the Melbourne Rebels in preparation for the Rebels' 2011 Super Rugby season.[7][8] In 2012, his Rebels teammates included props Nic Henderson, Laurie Weeks, the 20-year-old Paul Alo-Emile, and new signings Kurtley Beale and James O'Connor.[9] Rebels coach Damien Hill praised Blake's agility, and decision-making abilities in both attack and defence. Hill said, "Rodney's biggest challenge, season in, season out, is to make sure he has the aerobic capacity to perform those skills for long periods of time rather than in small bits."[10]
Blake left the Rebels after the 2012 season and moved to Airlie Beach in Queensland. He played representative rugby for the Mackay Stingers in the North Queensland Rugby Championships in 2014.[11][12]
References
edit- ^ "On the Spot – Rodney Blake". rugby.com.au. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
- ^ a b "Players ... with three or more Caps ... 1973–2009". Australian Schools Rugby. ARFSU. Archived from the original on 16 February 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
- ^ "Rodney Christopher Blake". Classic Wallabies. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
- ^ "Rodzilla named as Reds' best in 2006". ABC. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
- ^ "Bayonne sign 'Rodzilla' from Reds". Super XV. 17 June 2008. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
- ^ "Rodzilla to join Rebels in Melbourne". The Sydney Morning Herald. 9 June 2010. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
- ^ "Former Wallabies Rodney Blake and Mark Gerrard sign with the Rebels". Fox Sports. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
- ^ "Rebels sign up two former Wallabies". The Age. 10 June 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
- ^ Paxinos, Stathi (28 February 2012). "Forward pack to deliver: Weeks". The Age. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
- ^ Schlink, Leo (17 May 2012). "Rodney Blake the key against Western Force". Herald Sun. News. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
- ^ "Senior Townsville Brolgas triumphant over FNQ Thunder and Mackay Stingers". North Ward Old Boys Rugby. 23 May 2014. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
- ^ Thimpson, Michael (17 May 2014). "Wallabies forward Rodney Blake rumoured to be clashing against Brolgas in NQ Rugby Championship". Townsville Bulletin. News. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.