Todd Blackadder – Coach Profile
Todd Julian Blackadder has been both a player and a coach for the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU). He has played at the position of lock and as a loose forward in his younger years. After he retired as a player he started a career in coaching and has become
on of better coaches in Super Rugby.
Blackadder was born in September 1971 in Rangiora, New Zealand and he graduated from the Rangiora High School. He has been seen in multiple roles within the rugby world, ranging from a professional rugby union player, coach and has also completed a stint
as the Director of Rugby.
His official rugby career with the NZRU started in 1995. Previously, he had played for his hometown team, the Woodend, in his early rugby games. Among others he has also played for the Nelson Bays in 1990. Likewise, he has also played in the New Zealand
Rugby Seven’ debut World Cup matches.
In the 1996 season, he joined the Crusaders at the position of lock. He was initially only hired for a years contract. He faced England at Dunedin for his first ever Test match in the same year. After his performance in the season, the Crusaders hired him
on permanently to play until 2001, as the Crusader’s captain. With his help Crusaders won three Super Rugby tournaments.
Under the NZRU, Blackadder also represented the Canterbury union. He led the Canterbury team through the provincial tournaments of the National Provincial Championship (NPC). His playing for the Canterbury helped them win the NPC, after almost 14 years,
in 1997. Before he left the NZRU in 2001, he once again led the Canterbury team to the NPC title.
Over the years he has also represented New Zealand’s national team, the All Blacks. The player, who also played at the flanker position has been capped 25 times under the All Blacks. Under the All Blacks umbrella, Blackadder accumulated 15 points. Further,
he was the captain for the All Blacks in 14 of his 25 capped games. The All Blacks won the Super Rugby cup three times under the captaincy of Blackadder.
Similarly, his stint with NZRU had him playing for the Crusaders as well. He played with them in the Super 12 tournaments until 2001. That year the player left the NZRU and joined the Edinburgh Rugby union’s Scotland team, the Edinburgh Gunners. He was capped
41 times with the Edinburgh Gunners, accumulating 15 points while heading the team as a captain.
In 2004, the captain for the Edinburgh Gunners joined the team as an assistant coach for the forwards. The coach for the Edinburgh Gunners at that time was Matt William, who had joined them in 2003 as Scotland rugby union’s first foreign coach. In September
2005, Frank Hadden was made the coach for the Edinburgh Gunners. Under his tutelage, Blackadder became the coach for the team’s forwards.
Blackadder’s stint with the Scotland rugby union lasted till 2008, when he left them in order to be the Director of Coaching followed by the Director of Rugby, for the Tasman Rugby Union. This union is the prevailing union for South Island in New Zealand.
Here, he coached South Island’s provincial team the Tasman Makos in the NPC. He had previously in 2007, appointed as the coach for the Tasman Makos for the Air New Zealand (ANZ) Cup taking place in 2008.
Come July 23, 2008, Blackadder was announced as the coach for the Crusaders. The 71 times capped Super Rugby player and coach was looking forward to coaching his home team, with whom he also had a rugby career as a player. In the previous year, 2009, he
also held the title as the Crusader’s technical advisor, while he was simultaneously the Director of Rugby for the Tasman union.
The All Blacks player and captain, the Director of Rugby and a coach under the NZRU and the Scotland rugby union, Blackadder replaced Robbie Deans as the coach for the Crusaders.
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