David Kidwell
Personal information
Full nameDavid Leon Peter Jamie Kidwell[1]
Born (1977-04-23) 23 April 1977 (age 46)
Christchurch, New Zealand
Playing information
Height189 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight108 kg (17 st 0 lb)
PositionSecond-row, Centre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1997–98 Adelaide Rams 16 2 0 0 8
1999–00 Parramatta Eels 33 8 0 0 32
2001–02 Warrington Wolves 32 12 0 0 48
2002 Sydney Roosters 19 3 0 0 12
2003–06 Melbourne Storm 103 18 0 0 72
2007–09 South Sydney 38 3 0 0 12
Total 241 46 0 0 184
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1999–08 New Zealand 25 4 0 0 16
2000 Aotearoa Māori 3 1 0 0 4
Coaching information
Representative
Years Team Gms W D L W%
2016–18 New Zealand 11 4 1 6 36
2020–22 Māori All Stars 3 2 1 0 67
Source: [2][3][4]

David Kidwell (born 23 April 1977) is a professional rugby coach who is the defence coach at Los Pumas, the national rugby union team of Argentina, and a former rugby league player. As a player, he represented New Zealand as a member of the 2005 Tri-Nations and 2008 World Cup winning New Zealand teams.[2][3] He primarily played as a second-row, though he started his career as a centre.

Background

Kidwell was born in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Playing career

A Hornby Panthers junior in the Canterbury Rugby League competition, in 1995 Kidwell played in the Lion Red Cup for the Canterbury Country Cardinals.[5]

He then joined the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs in 1996 and also made the 1996 Junior Kiwis that year. He made his First Grade début on 17 August 1997 in Round 17 for the Adelaide Rams against Canberra at Canberra Stadium. Kidwell was selected for the New Zealand team to compete in the end of season 1999 Rugby League Tri-Nations tournament. In the final against Australia he played from the interchange bench in the Kiwis' 22–20 loss.

In 2006 Kidwell signed a pre-contract agreement to represent the South Sydney Rabbitohs until 2009. He later played in Melbourne's 2006 NRL Grand Final loss to Brisbane. Kidwell has previously played for the Melbourne Storm, Sydney Roosters, Warrington Wolves, Parramatta Eels and the Adelaide Rams.

In the 2007 pre-season, it was announced that Kidwell would be co-captain of the South Sydney Rabbitohs, along with Peter Cusack for 2007. In April 2007, Kidwell was ruled out for the season after suffering a freak accident at home where he tripped over one of his children and injured his knee.[6] After failing an alcohol test on 2 May 2008, the Rabbitohs stripped Kidwell of his co-captaincy and four others who failed were relegated to the bench for their Sunday match against the Cowboys.[7]

At the end of 2007 Kidwell was named in the Melbourne Storm team of the decade.[8]

Kidwell retired from rugby league at the end of the 2009 season.[9]

Representative career

Kidwell made his New Zealand début in 1999.

Kidwell playing for the Kiwis at the 2008 RLWC
Kidwell (right) performing the Haka for New Zealand in 2008

In August 2008, Kidwell was named in the New Zealand training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup,[10] and in October 2008, he was named in the final 24-man Kiwi squad.[11]

Coaching career

Kidwell was appointed the Rabbitohs Toyota Cup (Under 20s competition) coach for 2010.[12] They finished minor premiers that year and made the Grand Final, but were defeated 42-28 by the Under 20s New Zealand Warriors. He later worked as an assistant coach at the Melbourne Storm under Craig Bellamy. On 16 September 2013 it was announced that he would be joining the Wests Tigers in 2014 as an assistant coach.

Kidwell joined the New Zealand national rugby league team as an assistant coach in 2014. After Stephen Kearney left the role of being the head coach of the New Zealand national team in 2016, Kidwell was later appointed as the new Kiwis head coach, Kidwell oversaw a brief but embarrassing era for New Zealand Rugby League in which they lost two World Cup matches to tier-2 nations, and fluked a draw against another in the 2016 Four Nations tournament. A series of critical failures in team culture and management led to disappointing results and a mass exodus of players. One notable player to leave the team was Jason Taumololo. Taumololo defected to Tonga, who defeated New Zealand in a World Cup pool match. Kidwell was replaced by Michael Maguire after failing to make the semi-finals of the 2017 World Cup.[13]

In 2018, Kidwell was appointed as assistant coach at one of his former clubs The Parramatta Eels.[14]

In May 2022 it was announced that Kidwell had been appointed defensive coach of the Argentina rugby union side, by head coach Michael Cheika.[15]

Kiwis coaching record

Opponent Played Won Drew Lost Win Ratio (%)
 Australia 4 0 0 4 00.00
 England 1 1 0 0 100.00
 Fiji 1 0 0 1 00.00
 Samoa 1 1 0 0 100.00
 Scotland 2 1 1 0 50.00
 Tonga 1 0 0 1 00.00
TOTAL 10 3 1 6 30.00
World Cup record
Year Round Position GP W L D
Australia/New Zealand/Papua New Guinea 2017 Quarter-Final 5/14 4 2 2 0
Total 0 Titles 0/1 4 2 2 0
Four Nations record
Year Round Position GP W L D
England 2016 Second Place 2/4 4 1 2 1
Total 0 Titles 0/1 4 1 2 1
Anzac Test
Year Round Position GP W L D
2017 Anzac Test Second Place 2/2 1 0 1 0
Total 0 Titles 0/1 1 0 1 0
Other Test matches
Year Round Position GP W L D
2016 Second Place 2/2 1 0 1 0
Total 0 Wins 0/1 1 0 1 0

References

  1. ^ "KIDWELL, DAVID LEON PETER JAMIE 1999 - 2000, 2004 - 2006, 2008 - KIWI #679". nzleague.co.nz. 23 April 2012. Archived from the original on 23 April 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Coach Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  4. ^ "Profile at yesterdayshero.com.au". yesterdayshero.com.au. 10 August 2012. Archived from the original on 10 August 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  5. ^ Lion Red Rugby League Annual 1995, New Zealand Rugby League, 1995. p. 110
  6. ^ "Kidwell to have scans on injured knee". ABC News. 9 April 2007.
  7. ^ "Holmes a Court backs Taylor and football department". The Roar. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  8. ^ "Melbourne Storm Team of the Decade". Archived from the original on 22 August 2008. Retrieved 21 July 2007.
  9. ^ "Kidwell couldn't resist chance to join Melbourne". 2 June 2012.
  10. ^ "Kiwis select Sonny Bill". Sky Sports. 8 August 2008. Retrieved 8 August 2008.
  11. ^ "Kiwis to wait on Webb and Matai". BBC. 7 October 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
  12. ^ "Kidwell named Rabbitohs' under-20s coach". nrl.com. 21 September 2009. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
  13. ^ "David Kidwell new Kiwis coach, but will Simon Mannering be his captain?". stuff. 16 September 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  14. ^ "Eels board calls emergency talks to review nightmare year". 6 June 2018.
  15. ^ "Cheika and Argentina name David Kidwell as Pumas Defensive Coordinator". 16 May 2022.

External links

Parramatta Eels – current squad
Aotearoa Māori squad – 2000 Rugby League World Cup
New Zealand squads
Coaching positions
Categories