2014 SUPER RUGBY MEDIA GUIDE CRUSADERS 168 DOMINIC BIRD Position: Lock Physical: 206cm/112kg Date of Birth: 9 April 1991 Place of Birth: Waipukurau, NZL Super Rugby Caps: 10 Super Rugby Points: 0 Super Rugby Debut: Round 3, 2013 vs Blues, Auckland Test Caps: 1 Test Points: 0 Test Debut 2 November 2013 vs Japan, Tokyo Dominic Bird, the tallest player in Super Rugby, grew up in the farming community of Waipukurau in Hawke’s Bay but moved to Christchurch at the end of 2009 to attend Lincoln University and further his rugby career. After two seasons in the Crusaders’ Wider Training Group and only a single provincial cap prior to the 2012 season, patience and hard work paid off for Bird in the 2012 ITM Cup competition. He appeared in every match for Canterbury and shone as one of the best lineout technicians in the competition. He then made his Super Rugby debut in 2013 and earned Man of the Match honours in his first game. Injury robbed Bird of much of last year’s campaign, but the limited game time he had was enough to convince All Blacks selectors to include him in the 2013 end of year tour where he made his Test debut in Tokyo. TYLER BLEYENDAAL Position: Flyhalf Physical: 185cm/96kg Date of Birth: 31 May 1990 Place of Birth: Christchurch, NZL Super Rugby Caps: 16 Super Rugby Points: 107 Super Rugby Debut: Round 1, 2012 vs Blues, Auckland Test Caps: 0 Test Points: 0 Test Debut – Tyler Bleyendaal was born and raised in Christchurch, playing soccer as a youngster before switching to rugby. It was a wise move as Bleyendaal captained the New Zealand U20 side which lifted the Junior World Championship title in Argentina in 2010 and was selected in both the Crusaders and Canterbury ITM Cup squads for 2011. Bleyendaal’s Crusaders debut came in 2012 against the Blues which saw him continue the remarkable record of Christchurch Boys’ High School old boys such as Colin Slade, Stephen Brett, Aaron Mauger, Andrew Mehrtens and Daniel Carter, who have started at number 10 for the team. The 2013 season saw Bleyendaal go from strength to strength and he is starting to exert more influence on matches thanks to his intelligent understanding of the game, ability to make good decisions and consistent execution of his key roles.
2014 Super Rugby Media Guide
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