Robbie Abel

Robbie Abel (born 4 July 1989) is an Australian professional rugby union player who plays at hooker for NSW in Super Rugby and for the Māori All Blacks. He previously played in Australia for the Brumbies, Canberra Vikings and Perth Spirit,[1] and also played for Northland and Auckland in the ITM Cup.[2][3]

Robbie Abel

Full name	Robbie Abel
Date of birth	4 July 1989
Place of birth	Orange, Australia
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	112 kg (17 st 9 lb; 247 lb)
School	St Edmund's College
Notable relative(s)	Charlie Abel (brother) Jake Abel (brother)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Hooker Current team Waratahs / Auckland Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2007–2010, 2013 Brumbies Runners 16 () 2009, 2012 Northland B’s 17 () 2013 Northland 9 (5) 2014 Perth Spirit 9 (25) 2015–2017 Canberra Vikings 34 (74) 2018–present Auckland 17 (15) Correct as of 15 October 2019 Super Rugby Years Team Apps (Points) 2014–2015 Force 0 (0) 2016–2018 Brumbies 36 (15) 2019 Rebels 7 (0) 2020– Waratahs 0 (0) Current local club Waratahs / Auckland Correct as of 15 October 2019 National team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 2007 Australia 'A' Schools 3 2018– Māori All Blacks 3

Career

Robbie Abel was selected for the Australia 'A' Schools team in 2007,[4] after moving to St Edmund's College, Canberra from Griffith NSW in 2006. He was a part of the Brumbies Academy from 2007 till 2010, having a stint in New Zealand with Northland rugby in 2009.

Abel took a two-year hiatus from rugby from 2010 till the end of 2012 to undertake a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Western Australia.

Upon completion of his duties he linked up with Northland Rugby Union and the Brumbies from 2012 till the end of 2013 spending 2 years playing between Canberra and Whangarei for the Brumbies Runners and the Northland Taniwha in New Zealand's ITM Cup.

He moved back to Western Australia to become a member of the Western Force playing squad ahead of the 2014 Super Rugby season. Abel didn't make any senior appearances in 2014 but turned out for Perth Spirit in the inaugural National Rugby Championship later that year scoring 5 tries in 9 appearances,[2] and he was named again in the Force squad for 2015.[5]

Abel then signed a contract with the Brumbies,[6] joining the Canberra Vikings late in the 2015 season.[2] In 2016 Abel made his Super Rugby debut for the Brumbies against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.[7] Abel featured in all games for the 2017 season and all games he was available for in 2018.

In 2018 Abel took a contract to play with Auckland in the Mitre 10 Cup competition. After a successful season with Auckland which saw the team win the 2018 Premiership, losing just one game in the regular season, Abel was named in the Māori All Blacks team to tour USA and South America.

References

1. "Robbie Abel Perth Spirit Player Profile". Western Australia Rugby. Archived from the original on 20 December 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
2. "Robbie Abel". It's Rugby. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
3. "Robbie Abel ESPN Scrum Player Profile". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
4. "Australian Schoolboys by Year" (PDF). schoolsrugby.com.au. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
5. "Robbie Abel Western Force Player Profile". Western Force Rugby. Archived from the original on 2 January 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
6. Dutton, Chris (17 November 2015). "Brumbies recruit Robbie Abel walks away from mining riches for Super Rugby shot". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 16 October 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
7. Gaskin, Lee (8 April 2016). "Rugby union: Brumbies hooker Robbie Abel brings family across to Easts to boost numbers". The Canberra Times. Archived from the original on 23 June 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2017.

Super Rugby statistics

As of 16 June 2019[1]

Season	Team	Games	Starts	Sub	Mins	Tries	Cons	Pens	Drops	Points	Yel	Red
2014	Force	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2015	Force	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2016	Brumbies	2	0	2	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2017	Brumbies	14	4	10	443	3	0	0	0	15	0	0
2018	Brumbies	8	0	8	133	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2019	Rebels	7	2	5	201	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total		31	6	25	782	3	0	0	0	15	0	0

1. "Player Statistics". It's Rugby.