Jono Gibbes
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Jonathan Brian Gibbes (born 22 January 1977) is a New Zealand rugby union player who captains Waikato, the Chiefs and the New Zealand Māori rugby union team, and has appeared in various All Blacks teams.
Gibbes traditionally plays at the position of Blindside Flanker, or No.6, but has also played at Lock. Due to his height of 194cm, he has often been overlooked by the All Black selectors for being too short for an international class lock.
Weighing in at 109kg, Gibbes's career has been plagued by injury. Nonetheless his lineout jumping skills are more than impressive and under the guidance of John Mitchell was selected as captain of the Waikato NPC team in 2002. Despite various appearances for the All Blacks, Gibbes highest career achievement was captaining the NZ Maori to their first ever victory over the British Lions 19-13. During the match, Gibbes was on the ground clearly suffering from cramp but miraculously staggered to his feet to make a try saving and potentially match winning tackle.
On 13 June 2006, it was announced that Jono Gibbes would be joining the Ospreys region in Wales. On 06 September 2006 however, the NZRU and Waikato announced that he has signed a new three year contract with them. As it appears that he has possibly signed two concurrent contracts, there is a high possibility of a legal challenge involving the various parties.
