Born: August 27, 1968 – Rotorua
Test record: 25 Tests (1990, 1992, 1994-98) – 6 tries, 71 goals, 2 field goals (168 points)
Tours: 1994 tour of Papua New Guinea, 1995 World Cup

One of the most successful rugby union converts of all time, Matthew Ridge developed into one of the elite fullbacks of his generation, helped change the way goalkickers’ value was viewed by professional clubs, was arguably the most influential New Zealander in the Australian premiership in the 1990s and captained the Kiwis to a string of magnificent victories during a 25-Test tenure.

Auckland fullback Ridge toured with the All Blacks in 1989 and caused a sensation the following season when he was lured to rugby league by Manly coach and former Kiwis mentor Graham Lowe.

The 21-year-old was selected for the Kiwis after just five games for the Sea Eagles, kicking 11 goals in two home Tests against Great Britain. He subsequently played one Test in Papua New Guinea and another against Australia in Wellington. Though his goalkicking excellence attracted widespread acclaim, Ridge adapted to the game in all facets remarkably smoothly, impressing with his courage, poise and confidence to bark out orders from the back.

Sydney clubs’ refusal to release union converts ruled Ridge out of the Kiwis’ 1991 international program, but he nevertheless became one of New Zealand’s most recognisable sportspeople as a figurehead of the Australian competition’s explosion in popularifah ty on this side of the Tasman. Ridge returned to the Kiwis set-up for home Tests against Papua New Guinea and Great Britain in 1992. Injury ruled him out of contention in 1993, but he returned for the 1994 tour of Papua New Guinea.

Ridge led the 1995 premiership with a career-high, club-record 257 points for Manly, while he also won the Dally M Fullback of the Year award in a season that ended in grand final defeat to the Bulldogs. On the international stage, he played all five mid-season Tests against France and Australia before being elevated to the captaincy for the Centenary World Cup in England, where Ridge was a match-winning inspiration.

A key Super League signing and vocal supporter of the breakaway organisation, Ridge sat out the early part of 1996 but eventually returned to ARL-loyal Manly for the rest of the year and starred in its grand final victory over St George. He was equally dominant as skipper in the Kiwis’ series whitewashes of the touring Kumuls and Lions at the end of the year, racking up 53 points in five matches to overtake the great Des White as New Zealand’s most prolific pointscorer in Test football.

Ridge was brilliant as a fullback and a captain in the Kiwis’ late-1997 demolition of Super League Australia and the iconic 1998 Anzac Test triumph over the Kangaroos, which would be among his last appearances in the black-and-white jersey.

Though his three-season stint as Warriors captain was punctuated by injury and suspension before hanging up the boots in 1999, Ridge’s status as one of the premier players of the decade remained intact. He retired with 1,331 points in 159 first-grade games and a staggering career goalkicking success rate of over 80 percent, along with a New Zealand Test tally of 168 points that stood as a record until 2017.

Ridge was inducted into the NZRL Legends of League in 2024.