Keith Robinson had one of the more unusual All Black careers of modern times. An abrasive no-nonsense lock he was excellent value in the tests he played but a series of injuries and chronic back and leg problems kept him away from the game for long periods and ultimately ended his career.

Born in Te Aroha and educated at Te Aroha College Robinson first came to notice in rugby in the 1989 Thames Valley primary school representatives who won the (Northern) Roller Mills Shield. Interestingly, captain of the team was another who went on to play international rugby but not for New Zealand, long serving Wallaby hooker Jeremy Paul. 

Robinson first appeared in representative rugby as a 21 year old for Thames Valley, then having one of their better seasons in the second division, in 1998. He made 11 appearances for the union in both 1998 and 1999, impressing with his work ethic, lineout skills and his hardness in the contact areas. He was encouraged to move on from Thames Valley to make the most of his ability and shifted to Taranaki in 2000.

Nearly all Robinson’s eleven appearances for Taranaki in 2000 were off the bench but he did enough for the Rugby Almanack to comment that “Keith Robinson impressed, even with his limited game time, from the bench.” A clash with Auckland All Black Robin Brooke was seen as evidence of hard nosed attitude. Chiefs coach John Mitchell saw enough potential to use him for a couple of games at the start of the 2001 Super 12 but Robinson only played the first half of that season’s NPC for Taranaki.

2002 was the break through season for Robinson. He started in all eleven of the Chiefs’ Super 12 matches and, having moved to Waikato, appeared in all their 13 matches and the NPC final against Auckland. A clash between Robinson and the Reds’ Wendell Sailor during the Super 12 enhanced his reputation as a player who stood no nonsense (though some suggested the two shaven headed players were merely discussing the merits of their respective barbers). He was rewarded with selection for the end of season Northern Hemisphere tour, though his way was made easier with none of the three locks used in the Tri-Nations (Chris Jack, Norm Maxwell and Simon Maling) touring. He appeared in the tests against England and Wales, playing well. The Rugby Almanack judged he could be “proud of his efforts in the black jersey”.

Despite having a good season for both the Chiefs and Waikato in 2003 Robinson had to wait until 2004 and a new All Black selection panel before he was called on again. He played the two home tests against England and the Pacific Islanders, impressing with his physical presence. However his season was cut short by injury and he did not appear again at first class level until late September 2006. His unheralded return though, for Waikato against Wellington, was little short of sensational and he maintained that quality of form for the rest of the season, helping Waikato win the Air New Zealand Cup (a career highlight) in its first year of competition. He was a certainty for the end of season Northern Hemisphere tour when he played in the comprehensive wins over England and Wales.

During September 2006 it was announced that 22 first choice All Blacks would go through a reconditioning programme instead of playing the first half of the 2007 Super 14. It was a controversial decision and was no doubt a factor in a South African franchise winning the competition for the first time. Robinson was not one of the 22 and played in seven matches in the competition. He was chosen to play for the All Blacks against France in Wellington in June but injured a calf muscle during the pre-match warm-up and was replaced by Chris Jack. He recovered to play against South Africa and Australia in the Tri-Nations, his first test against either of those countries.
Despite clearly being an injury risk he was selected for the 2007 World Cup, an indication of the regard All Black management had for his qualities. But his leg problem arose again and he was not able to play until the final pool match against Romania and in the disastrous quarterfinal against France. Subbed after 50 minutes the loss to France could hardly be blamed on him but it was a bitterly disappointing way to end his career.

Back in New Zealand he announced his retirement “because his left knee could not sustain any more rugby campaigns”. It was a tribute to his resolve that he was able to return from as many setbacks as he did.

Keith Robinson’s international career, though spread over six seasons, only involved 12 tests (a small number at a time when the All Blacks were playing that many or more in a season) and was too spasmodic for him to be ranked as a top international lock. But when he played he brought a degree of physical dominances to the core activities of a test lock probably greater than any of his All Black contemporaries. The 2007 All Black management perseverance with him suggested they saw his strength, attitude and skills as important to success at the World Cup.

Profile by Lindsay Knight
for the New Zealand Rugby Museum.

FULL NAME

Keith John Robinson

BORN

Tuesday, 14 December 1976 in Te Aroha

AGE

33

PHYSICAL

1.98m, 115kg

POSITION

Lock

LAST SCHOOL

Te Aroha College

RUGBY CLUB
(First made All Blacks from)

Taupiri

PROVINCE

Waikato

SUPER 14 TEAM

Chiefs

ALL BLACK DEBUT

Saturday, 9 November 2002
v England at London
aged 25 years, 330 days

INTERNATIONAL DEBUT

Saturday, 9 November 2002
v England at London
aged 25 years, 330 days

LAST TEST

Saturday, 6 October 2007
v France at Cardiff
aged 30 years, 296 days

ALL BLACK TESTS

12 (0 as Captain)

ALL BLACK GAMES

0 (0 as Captain)

TOTAL ALL BLACK MATCHES

12 (0 as Captain)

ALL BLACK TEST POINTS

0pts

ALL BLACK GAME POINTS

0pts

TOTAL ALL BLACK POINTS

0pts

ALL BLACK NUMBER

1021

The All Black Games that Robinson played.
(+) = substitute; (-) = replaced

Click on the date to be taken to the Match Card

2002

 9 Nov vs England at London 28-31 (-) 

 16 Nov vs France at Paris 20-20 (+) 

 23 Nov vs Wales at Cardiff 43-17  

2004

 12 Jun vs England at Dunedin 36-3  

 19 Jun vs England at Auckland 36-12  

 10 Jul vs Pacific Islanders at Albany 41-26  

2006

 5 Nov vs England at London 41-20  

 25 Nov vs Wales at Cardiff 45-10  

2007

 14 Jul vs South Africa at Christchurch 33-6 (-) 

 21 Jul vs Australia at Auckland 26-12  

 29 Sep vs Romania at Toulouse 85-8 (-) 

 6 Oct vs France at Cardiff 18-20 (-) 

Robinson did not score any points for the All Blacks.

Test Record by Nation

P

W

D

L

t

c

p

dg

pts

Australia

1

1

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

England

4

3

-

1

-

-

-

-

-

France

2

-

1

1

-

-

-

-

-

Pacific Islanders

1

1

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Romania

1

1

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

South Africa

1

1

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Wales

2

2

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Totals

12

9

1

2

0

0

0

0

0