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Former cross-code All Black announces retirement from professional rugby
Former dual-code New Zealand representative Matt Duffie has announced his retirement from professional rugby at the age of 31.
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In a social media post published on Saturday, Duffie confirmed he is hanging up the boots after a cross-code career that spanned more than a decade and saw him play for the All Blacks in rugby union and the Kiwis in rugby league.
“The time has come to hang up the boots and I am so happy to be doing it on my terms,” Duffie wrote on Instagram a day after his Mie Honda Heat side lost their Japan Rugby League One promotion-relegation playoff series against the NEC Green Rockets Tokatsu.
“Though its [sic] been a tough decision to come to, I really feel excited about starting the next chapter and I will not miss limping around for 20 mins each morning, let alone the pain after a hard session or game.
“I was truely [sic] blessed to share the locker room with some of the greats of both codes, encounters many only dream of, its [sic] not lost how fortunate I was for those experiences.
“I want to thank all my teammates that I have had throughout my time, its truely [sic] a connection that lasts a lifetime, looking forward to a beer and a yarn when our paths cross.
“Thank you to all the coaches I have had, I have learnt something from everyone that has ever coached me, good or bad, coaches promote growth and I am the person I am today with those experiences.
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“To the fans, the beating heart of Sport, thank you for always supporting me. I hope I have made you proud. I also hope you had a good laugh whenever I got bumped off.
“To the teams I represented@storm, @nzrugbyleague, @bluesrugbyteam , @harbourrugby, @allblacks, @barbarians_fc, @hondaheat_official. Thank you, it was an honour.”
After moving to rugby union from rugby league ahead of the 2016 Super Rugby season, Duffie spent five seasons with the Blues, making 54 appearances and scoring 11 tries for the Auckland-based franchise.
During that time, the former outside back also spent four seasons with North Harbour, where he won the 2016 Mitre 10 Cup Championship and scored 22 tries from 39 matches.
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Duffie’s form for the Blues and North Harbour earned him an All Blacks call-up for their 2017 end-of-year tour, where he played in two non-tests against the Barbarians at Twickenham and a French XV in Lyon.
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He scored his solitary All Blacks try in New Zealand’s 28-23 win over the French XV at Parc Olympique Lyonnais.
By playing for the All Blacks, Duffie became the 37th person to represent New Zealand in both rugby union and rugby league, having played – and scored in – his one and only test for the Kiwis in the 2011 Anzac Test against the Kangaroos.
Duffie is also one of only three people, alongside Karl Ifwersen and Sonny Bill Williams, to have represented New Zealand in rugby league before doing so in rugby union.
As a rugby league player, Duffie joined the Melbourne Storm on a scholarship at the end of 2008, and was part of the club’s NRL U20 title-winning side in 2009.
The following year, he made his NRL debut for the Storm, where he spent an injury-plagued six seasons before his departure to the Blues.
A member of the Storm’s Premiership-winning side in 2012, Duffie missed that year’s grand final after undergoing shoulder surgery for a second time in as many years.
A third shoulder injury and two torn ACLs limited Duffie’s output to just four matches between 2013 and 2014, but he still managed to make 62 appearances and scored 150 points for the Storm between 2010 and 2015.
After leaving the Blues for Japan after the 2020 Super Rugby Aotearoa campaign, Duffie closed out his career by making 18 appearances and scoring four tries for Honda.
Duffie added in his social media post that he will now relocate back to Melbourne with his wife and two children.
Comments on RugbyPass
Yes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
2 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
2 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
2 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
2 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
5 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
34 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to comments