A gifted player whose test ambitious were hit by being in the right place, doing the right things at the wrong time. Roger Randle earned just two test caps during the era where the All Blacks line up was dominated by the likes of New Zealand's finest in Jeff Wilson, Jonah Lomu, Tana Umaga and later on Doug Howlett
That being said Randle enjoyed an incredible domestic and Super Rugby career that spanned over a decade. Roger Randle was a big speedy wing, initially from Hawke's Bay. Consequently, his All Black involvement was limited to two midweek matches on the 2001 end of season tour.
Born in Hastings and educated at Hastings Boys High School Roger Randle made an instant impression in first-class rugby. His Hawke's Bay debut, from the Hastings HSOB club, as a 20-year-old early in 1995, saw him scoring six tries in his first four matches. He increased this to 17 by the end of the season, only one less than the union record. Earlier in the season, he had appeared for Hawke's Bay in the national Sevens tournament and then represented New Zealand at the Fiji Sevens.
He also scored heavily (five tries against Tonga) at a South Pacific U21 tournament and appeared in all three matches for New Zealand U21 at a Southern Hemisphere tournament in Buenos Aires. The Rugby Almanack described him as 'a young newcomer with considerable potential' and chose him as one of their 'Five Promising Players'. He made such an impression in his early games for Hawke's Bay that he appeared in an All Black trial in April 1995.
Randle had a busy season in 1996, playing in the Uruguay Sevens, an appearance for the Hurricanes, a full season for Hawke's Bay, three matches for the Divisional XV and an end of season visit to Fiji and Tonga with New Zealand Maori. From 1998 Randle appeared primarily for the Chiefs and Waikato and there were a number of highlights. He was a prolific scorer in Ranfurly Shield rugby, including 14 tries in his first season with Waikato, playing for New Zealand Maori in a big win over England in 1998 and membership of the Sevens squads that won gold medals at the 1998 and 2002 Commonwealth Games.
After being in the All Black squad for the 2001 domestic and Sanzar tests but not taking the field his seasons of strong performances were rewarded with inclusion on the end of season tour to Ireland, Scotland and Argentina, part of a somewhat speculative selection by new All Black coach John Mitchell. Randle played the two-midweek matches, against Ireland 'A' and Scotland 'A'. Both matches were won comfortably but somewhat surprisingly for such a potent finisher he was not among the try-scorers
Before retiring he took his Waikato tally to 63 appearances and scoring his 50th try for the union. Randle moved into coaching late in his playing career, his coaching career now spanning over ten years provides a wealth of attack coaching experience across both provincial and international rugby.
He has worked at multiple levels for Waikato and headed up both the New Zealand and Japan Sevens. His experience also includes stints as the Maori All Blacks assistant coach, the NZ Provincial Barbarians side that faced the Lions in 2017 as well as being the head coach of Fraser tech for five years.
He currently works as the assistant backs coach for the Chiefs, a role that he has held since 2019.
Credit: Bob Luxford and All Blacks.com with additional info from Ultimate Rugby
Career
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Chiefs Coach |
1998 - present |
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Hawke's Bay Right Wing |
1994 - 1997 |
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Hurricanes Coach |
1996 - 1997 |
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New Zealand Coach |
2001 - 2002 |
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Maori All Blacks Coach |
1995 - 2003 |
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Bourgoin Right Wing |
2004 - 2005 |
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Waikato Right Wing |
1998 - 2006 |
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Fraser Tech Rugby Assistant Coach |
2008 - 2013 |
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NZ Provincial Barbarians XV Assistant Coach |
2017 - 2017 |
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New Zealand 7's Assistant Coach |
2013 - 2018 |
