Wyatt Crockett

{{Short description|New Zealand rugby player (born 1983)}} {{Use New Zealand English|date=April 2017}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}} {{Infobox rugby biography | name = Wyatt Crockett | image = Wyatt Crockett August 2017.jpg | birth_name = Wyatt William Vogels Crockett | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1983|01|24}} | birth_place = [[Christchurch]], New Zealand | height = {{height|m=1.93|precision=0}} | weight = {{convert|116|kg|stlb lb|abbr=on}} | school = [[Nelson College]]<br>[[Otago Boys' High School]] | position = [[Prop (rugby union)|Loosehead prop]] | repyears1 = 2006–2007 | repyears2 = 2009–2017 | repteam1 = [[Junior All Blacks]] | repteam2 = {{nrut|New Zealand}} | years1 = 2005–2017 | years2 = 2018–2019 | clubs1 = {{rut|Canterbury}} | clubs2 = {{rut|Tasman}} | points1 = 30 | points2 = 15 | apps1 = 73 | apps2 = 20 | years3 = 2019 | clubs3 = [[Panasonic Wild Knights]] | apps3 = 4 | points3 = 0 | super1 = {{rut|Crusaders}} | superyears1 = 2006–2018 | repcaps1 = 6 | repcaps2 = 71 | reppoints1 = 5 | reppoints2 = 10 | ru_ntupdate = 23 September 2018 | superapps1 = 202 | superpoints1 = 55 | super14update = 30 September 2018 | ru_clubupdate = 27 October 2019 }}

'''Wyatt William Vogels Crockett''' (born 24 January 1983) is a former New Zealand [[rugby union]] player. He played at [[Rugby union positions#Prop|prop]] for the Crusaders in [[Super Rugby]], Canterbury and Tasman in the [[National Provincial Championship (2006–present)|National Provincial Championship]], and the New Zealand national team, the [[All Blacks]]. Crockett has played in 202 Super Rugby fixtures and is the second most-capped Super Rugby player of all time.

Crockett attended [[Nelson College]] from 1994 to 2000,<ref name="NCOB register">''Nelson College Old Boys' Register, 1856–2006'', 6th edition</ref> and Otago Boys High School in 2001.<ref>Meikle, Hayden. [http://www.odt.co.nz/sport/rugby/60968/rugby-boys-men-first-among-obhs-first-xv 'Rugby: Boys to men – first among the OBHS First XV'], ''Otago Daily Times'' 13 June 2009, accessed 2 December 2012.</ref>

==Career== ===Early career=== Crockett made his Super Rugby debut in 2006, quickly becoming a regular starter for the Crusaders, starting for the Crusaders in the 2006 and 2008 Grand Final-winning games against the Hurricanes and Waratahs respectively.

He made his All Blacks debut in a win against Italy on 27 June 2009, starting over the world-class [[Tony Woodcock (rugby player)|Tony Woodcock]].<ref>[http://stats.allblacks.com/asp/profile.asp?ABID=1091 Profile on New Zealand All Blacks rugby team official website]</ref> Crockett also started three times for New Zealand on the 2009 end-of-year tour, but was not selected in 2010 due to injury.

In 2011 he was selected in the All Blacks Tri-Nations Squad as injury cover and started against South Africa and Australia, following a start against Fiji prior to the Tri-Nations. Crockett was not subbed off against South Africa and also scored his first try for the All Blacks in the 40-7 win, a rare feat for a front-rower, however he narrowly missed selection to the victorious New Zealand squad for the [[2011 Rugby World Cup]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/14627953 |title=Rugby World Cup 2011: All Blacks pick Vito, omit Sivivatu & Gear |publisher=[[BBC]] |date=23 August 2011 |access-date=29 October 2015}}</ref>

===2012-2016=== Crockett was re-selected for New Zealand in 2012 as injury cover, cementing a place as a regular off the bench after starting against Australia and Scotland. Crockett played in every single test of 2013 except for one, making five starts and eight appearances as a replacement for Woodcock off the bench.

In 2014, First choice prop [[Tony Woodcock (rugby player)|Tony Woodcock]] was injured in the All Blacks third test against {{nrut|England}}, Crockett played nearly all the rest of the games on tour for the All Blacks and started eight times in 2014.

Crockett was selected for the [[2015 Rugby World Cup]], where New Zealand retained the Webb Ellis Cup. He notably started in the quarter-final against France which was a 62-13 win to New Zealand. Crockett was injured in that game however, ending his World Cup campaign. This saw Crockett lose his chance for a place in the All Blacks as a starter to [[Joe Moody (rugby union)|Joe Moody]], who was called up as a replacement for the World Cup, succeeding Crockett as a starter in 2016. Crockett would replace Moody off the bench eleven times in 2016, including in his 50th test in a 29-9 win against Australia after starting the week before due to Moody being injured. Crockett also started in the 68-10 win against Italy on 12 November, scoring his second try for the All Blacks in a 70-minute game that day.

Crockett became the most-capped Super Rugby player in history on 14 April 2017, starting for the Crusaders in a 50-3 win against the [[Sunwolves]]. Crockett's record-breaking 176th game for the franchise saw him overtake the record of now-retired long-serving Blues veteran and former All Blacks teammate [[Keven Mealamu]], who played his 175 Super Rugby fixtures over a career spanning from 2000-2015. Crockett replaced Moody off the bench in all of the knockout rounds for the 2017 Super Rugby season, including the 25-17 winning Grand Final against the Lions on 5 August. This was Crockett's third title win with the Crusaders, who have now won eight as a team. Crockett and [[Kieran Read]] were the only players from 2017's title-winning squad to play in their previous title-winning final from 2008.

===2017-2018=== Crockett currently holds the world record of consecutive [[Test match (rugby union)|Test]] wins - 45. Crockett's 45th consecutive win as an individual was in the first test against the [[British and Irish Lions]] on 24 June, with a final score of 30-15.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/all-blacks/86210690/old-memories-wont-haunt-crockett-as-he-aims-to-add-his-world-record-of-43-consecutive-test-wins |title=Old memories won't haunt Wyatt Crockett as he aims to add to his world record of 43 consecutive test wins |publisher=[[Stuff.co.nz]] |date=8 November 2016 |access-date=8 November 2016}}</ref> Crockett's record run was ended when the All Blacks were beaten 24-21 by the British and Irish Lions at Westpac stadium on 1 July 2017.

Crockett only played 14 minutes against the Wallabies on 19 August 2017 in Sydney following a serious concussion, but returned two weeks later against Argentina and followed up the next week to produce a world-class appearance replacing new regular starter [[Kane Hames]] off the bench against South Africa, with the All Blacks winning 57-0 with Crockett one of the standout players in the test. Crockett played another two great tests against Argentina and South Africa in round 4 and 5 of the [[2017 Rugby Championship]], replicating Hames' excellent form. Crockett's world-class form dipped on the end-of-year tour however, as he gave away many penalties including a yellow card for the last nine minutes in a 22-17 win against Scotland.

Crockett made his final appearance in a black jersey on 25 November 2017 in a 33-18 win over Wales, replacing Kane Hames in the 60th minute.

On 27 February 2018, Crockett announced on social media that he would not re-sign for the Crusaders and All Blacks and would retire from international rugby with immediate effect, with the [[2018 Super Rugby season]] to be his last Super Rugby campaign.

==References== {{Reflist}}

== External links == *{{All Blacks|id=1091|name=Wyatt Crockett}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crockett, Wyatt}} [[Category:1983 births]] [[Category:New Zealand rugby union players]] [[Category:New Zealand international rugby union players]] [[Category:Canterbury rugby union players]] [[Category:Crusaders (rugby union) players]] [[Category:Rugby union props]] [[Category:Rugby union players from Christchurch]] [[Category:People educated at Nelson College]] [[Category:People educated at Otago Boys' High School]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Tasman rugby union players]] [[Category:21st-century New Zealand sportsmen]] [[Category:2015 Rugby World Cup players]]