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| Full name | Craig Ross Innes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1969-09-10)10 September 1969 (age 55) New Plymouth, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 14 st 9 lb (93 kg)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Centre | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Centre | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Craig Ross Innes (born 10 September 1969), also known by thenickname of"Postie", is a New Zealand formerrugby union andrugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s.[3] After a successful rugby union career which saw him represent his country he switched to rugby league, playing in both England and Australia, winning the1996 ARL Premiership, before playing out the last years of his career in rugby union in New Zealand.
Craig Innes was born inNew Plymouth on the West Coast of New Zealand's North Island on 10 September 1969.[4]
Innes playedrugby union in New Zealand and made his international début at age 20 on the wing in a Test againstWales during the All Blacks' 1989 tour of Wales and Ireland. He scored two tries on début. Innes went on to play in 17 tests for theAll Blacks, including the1991 Rugby World Cup.
Innes turned professional in 1992, leaving New Zealand to join Englishrugby league clubLeeds. He helped Leeds reach the1994 and1995 Challenge Cup finals, playing against former All Black teammateVa'aiga Tuigamala in both matches. Innes' move to Australia to play for newARL outfit, theWestern Reds in the1995 season brought threats of legal action from Leeds.[5] He returned to England to make the last of his 135 appearances for Leeds before leaving the club in 1996, shortly before the start of theinaugural Super League season.[6]
Australian clubManly-Warringah Sea Eagles secured his services for the1996 ARL Premiership season, and he played alongside fellow former All Black,Matthew Ridge in the Sea Eagles'Grand final victory that year, scoring the first try of the match.[7] At the height of theSuper League war in 1997 Innes was unable to play representative rugby league forNew Zealand due to theNew Zealand Rugby League's alignment withSuper League, and his club Manly's alignment with theAustralian Rugby League. He did however appear in one match for a 'Rest of the World' team assembled to play against the ARL'sAustralian side. With the ARL isolated from the other international bodies during theSuper League war, they instigated a game against a Rest of the World side to give its players a chance to represent internationally. The world side included high-profile British Test playersGary Connolly andJason Robinson who had signed contracts promising to eventually join an ARL club. This was the only time the ARL granted Test status to a Rest of the World encounter. Innes thus became adual-code rugby international in that match. Innes' club, the Sea Eagles were minor premiers in the1997 ARL season, and reached the grand final, in which he scored a try, but it was not enough to defeat Newcastle.
At the end of the 1997 season, Innes returned to New Zealand to play out the rest of his football career in theSuper 12 rugby union competition for theAuckland Blues.[8] Since retirement from playing, he has been involved in professional player management.
Craig has two children and was married to former model, television host and judge onNew Zealand's Next Top Model,Sara Tetro.