Josh Renton (born 25 May 1994) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a halfback for Valorugby Emilia in Italian Top10.[1]

Josh Renton
Full nameJoshua Renton
Date of birth (1994-05-25) 25 May 1994 (age 29)
Place of birthDunedin, New Zealand
Height1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight80 kg (12 st 8 lb; 176 lb)
SchoolOtago Boys' High School
Notable relative(s)Girlfriend Irene Maeve Souness
Rugby union career
Position(s) Halfback
Current team Valorugby Emilia
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2013−2018 Otago 42 (10)
2015−2018 Highlanders 6 (0)
2018−2021 Zebre 42 (15)
2021 Southland Stags 2 (0)
2022− Valorugby Emilia ()
Correct as of 2 Apr 2021
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2012 New Zealand Schools
2014 New Zealand Under-20 5 (10)
Correct as of 4 Jan 2017

Early career edit

Born and raised in the southern New Zealand town of Dunedin, Renton attended the prestigious Otago Boys' High School in his hometown where he played first XV rugby, captaining the side in his senior year.[2][3][4]

Senior career edit

Renton started out his senior career with his local ITM Cup side Otago, debuting during the 2013 season against local rivals Southland while largely serving as back up to experienced Japanese halfback Fumiaki Tanaka throughout his first year of provincial rugby. Tanaka's return to Japan to play Top League rugby with the Panasonic Wild Knights in 2014 saw Renton become first choice number 9 for the Razorbacks. He played all 10 games during a disappointing campaign for the men from Dunedin which ended with them in 6th place on the championship log. 2015 was a much better year for Otago who finished up in 3rd place in the championship before going down comprehensively to Wellington in the semi-finals with Renton once more being the province's first choice halfback, playing 9 out of 11 matches. 2016 saw the Razorbacks top the Championship log only for them to lose to North Harbour in the tournament final which consigned them to another season of championship rugby in 2017. Renton missed the entire campaign as a result of a knee injury picked up playing club rugby earlier in the year.[5][6] He played for Otago in New Zealand's domestic Mitre 10 Cup and the Highlanders in the international Super Rugby competition from until 2018.[2][5][7][8][9]

In 2021 he come back in New Zealand to play for Southland Stags in New Zealand NPC.[10][11]

Super Rugby edit

Strong showings for Otago in domestic rugby through 2013 and 2014 were rewarded when Dunedin-based Super Rugby franchise, the Highlanders named him in their wider training group for the 2015 Super Rugby season.[12] Serving as back up to All Black Aaron Smith and Japanese international Fumiaki Tanaka, Renton was limited to just a solitary substitute appearance in his first season with the Highlanders. He was however promoted to the franchise's senior squad for 2016 at the expense of Tanaka, but, injury ended his campaign early after just 3 appearances from the replacements bench.[5][6] Despite his injury problems, new Highlanders head coach, Tony Brown retained him in the squad for 2017.[9]

Pro 14 edit

Renton played for Italian Pro14 team Zebre from 2018 to 2021.[13] [14]

International career edit

Renton represented New Zealand Schools in 2012 and was a member of the New Zealand Under-20 side which finished 3rd in the 2014 IRB Junior World Championship in his home country, scoring 2 tries in 5 matches.[15][16][17]

Career Honours edit

Highlanders

Super Rugby statistics edit

As of 4 January 2017[5]
Season Team Games Starts Sub Mins Tries Cons Pens Drops Points Yel Red
2015 Highlanders 1 0 1 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2016 Highlanders 3 0 3 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 4 0 4 33 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

References edit

  1. ^ "DALLA NUOVA ZELANDA ARRIVA IL MEDIANO DI MISCHIA JOSHUA RENTON". Valorugby Emilia (in Italian). 13 October 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Josh Renton Player Profile". Otago Rugby. Archived from the original on 13 December 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  3. ^ "Josh Renton Ultimate Rugby Player Profile". Ultimate Rugby. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  4. ^ "Rugby: Game time key to form - Renton". Otago Daily Times. 16 October 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d "Josh Renton itsrugby.co.uk Player Statistics". itsrugby.co.uk. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  6. ^ a b "Rugby: Renton's season looks to be over". Otago Daily Times. 10 May 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  7. ^ "Josh Renton ESPN Scrum Player Profile". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  8. ^ "Josh Renton Highlanders Player Profile". Highlanders Rugby. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  9. ^ a b "Highlanders 2017 Squad Guide" (PDF). All Blacks.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 March 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  10. ^ "Former Highlanders halfback Josh Renton signs with Southland Stags for 2021 NPCdate=30 June 2021". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  11. ^ "Josh Renton makes the move South for SIT Zero Fees Southland Stags". Rugby Southland. 30 June 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  12. ^ "Highlanders 2015 Squad Naming" (PDF). All Blacks.com. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  13. ^ "Il neozelandese Joshua Renton nuovo mediano di mischia delle Zebre Rugby". Zebre (in Italian).
  14. ^ "Le Zebre Rugby salutano otto giocatori che lasciano il club". Zebre (in Italian). 29 May 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  15. ^ "Josh Renton New Zealand Under-20 Player Profile". All Blacks.com. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  16. ^ "NZ U20 squad named for IRB JWC 2014". All Blacks.com. 23 April 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  17. ^ "NZSchools team named for internationals". All Blacks.com. 20 September 2012. Archived from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2017.