Leon MacDonald
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Leon Raymond MacDonald (born 21 December 1977) is a retired New Zealand rugby union footballer, and former head coach for the Auckland Blues rugby team, who played 56 tests for the national team, the All Blacks.[1] He played as a first five-eighth (fly-half), centre, and fullback. He is currently a coaching consultant with the Western Force.[2]
Career
Born in Blenheim, MacDonald made his provincial debut for Marlborough against Buller in 1994. He played 122 matches for the Crusaders and seven for the Chiefs in the Super 14,[3] and played for Canterbury in the National Provincial Championship. He was a prodigious goal kicker. He is rare among New Zealand exported players, because he played even better after his return from Japan. In 2008, Sky Sport's Reunion awarded him the Crusader's MVP title for their Super 14 title-winning season.
He played for Burnside in the Christchurch premier competition. He made his All Blacks debut age 22, versus Scotland in 2000. He scored a total of 141 test points (14 tries, 25 conversions, 7 penalties) in the 56 tests he played. He has also appeared for New Zealand Māori, playing three games and scoring 10 points, including the winning try against the British and Irish Lions in 2005 in Hamilton.[4]
In the 2003 Rugby World Cup, he was shifted from fullback to centre by All Blacks backline coach Robbie Deans. This proved to be a failure, and the last time he played at centre. In 2005, he was shifted to first five-eighth during the Tri-Nations to cover for the injured Daniel Carter.
Japan
In 2004 season, MacDonald played for Yamaha Jubilo in Japan.[5] He played for Kintetsu Liners in Japan in the 2009–2010 season.[1] In 2010 he announced his immediate retirement from rugby, after failing to recover from a long-term injury. It was also announced in 2010 that MacDonald would become an assistant coach for the Tasman Makos for the 2010 season.
All Blacks
MacDonald was appointed as an assistant coach for the All Blacks in 2024, a specialising in the attack area for the All Blacks. After five tests in the role, two of which were rugby championship games, MacDonald decided to resign and left his role due to having differing views with the head coach Scott Robertson.
Western Force
In February 2025 MacDonald was appointed as a coaching consultant to the Western Force.[6]
Cricket
He has also played for Marlborough in the Hawke Cup when they won it in the 1993–94 season.[5]
References
External links
Template:All Blacks Squad 2007 World Cup Template:All Blacks Squad 2003 World Cup
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- ↑ https://westernforce.rugby/news/force-worldclass-addition-macdonald-appointment-2025218
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- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ https://westernforce.rugby/news/force-worldclass-addition-macdonald-appointment-2025218
- Pages with script errors
- 1977 births
- Living people
- New Zealand international rugby union players
- Māori All Blacks players
- New Zealand rugby union players
- Canterbury rugby union players
- Crusaders (rugby union) players
- Chiefs (Super Rugby) players
- Rangitāne people
- Rugby union fly-halves
- Rugby union centres
- Rugby union fullbacks
- Hanazono Kintetsu Liners players
- Shizuoka Blue Revs players
- New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in Japan
- Rugby union players from Blenheim, New Zealand
- People educated at Marlborough Boys' College
- Marlborough rugby union players
- New Zealand cricketers
- New Zealand rugby union coaches
- 2003 Rugby World Cup players
- 2007 Rugby World Cup players
- MacDonald family (New Zealand)