Kieran Read has been awarded an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to rugby.

He played for the All Blacks for 11 years, including 52 test matches as Captain.

Read made his debut for Canterbury in 2006, and for the Crusaders and Junior All Blacks in 2007.

He has made 156 appearances for the Crusaders over 13 years, scoring 125 points, and was Captain from 2014 to 2016.

He played in the 2008, 2017, 2018 and 2019 Championship winning Crusaders teams. He is the third-most capped All Blacks player in history with 128 test caps.

His 19 consecutive wins as Captain between 2012 and 2016 is a world record and he is one of only 20 players to have won multiple Rugby World Cups, winning in 2011 and 2015.

He also captained the All Blacks to a Bronze medal at the 2019 Rugby World Cup. He was the IRB World Rugby Player of the Year in 2013 and New Zealand Rugby Player of the Year in 2010 and 2013. He was an Ambassador for the Yellow-Eyed Penguin Trust from 2011 to 2017.

Read was an ambassador with the Child Cancer Foundation over the past decade and has assisted with other charities.