Career
He played at hooker for the Blues in Super Rugby, Auckland in the National Provincial Championship, and the New Zealand national team, All Blacks. In a Bledisloe Cup test match against Australia on 20 October 2012, Mealamu became the third All Black to reach 100 test appearances. He clinched the 2003 Super Rugby Title.
He played as a flanker for New Zealand Under-16s and New Zealand Schools before switching to hooker in 1998.
He made his debut for the All Blacks on 23 November 2002, against Wales at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Mealamu"s provincial rugby debut was for Auckland in 1999.
He first played for the Blues in 2000, but had a stint with the Chiefs in 2002 – the same year he debuted for the All Blacks. Mealamu also made a fine contribution to the start of the All Blacks" 2006 Tri Nations campaign with two tries against the Wallabies during the first match.
Mealamu captained the Blues through their 2006 Super 14 campaign, but was forced to relinquish the captaincy in 2007 due to his commitments to the All Blacks.
Mealamu was made test captain in the test match against Scotland during the All Blacks 2008 Grand Slam tour, as regular captain Richie McCaw was a reserve for that match. He was a part of New Zealand"s 2011 Rugby World Cup winning squad. In 2014, he made his 150th appearance for the Blues, becoming the first player in Super Rugby history to make 150 appearances for one team
In 2015,After the world cup,he retired from rugby.
Mealamu and captain Tana Umaga were involved in a controversial spear tackle on Lions captain Brian O"Driscoll on 25 June 2005. Following a test match against England at Twickenham on 6 November 2010, Mealamu was cited by the independent citing commissioner (John West, Ireland) for headbutting Lewis Moody.
Mealamu became an important part of the leadership team of the national side and led the haka for the All Blacks 31 times. He led the Ka Mate version 23 times and the Kapa o Pango version 8 times.
He first led the team in September 2007 against Italy.
In his final international test he led the Kapa o Pango haka before the final against Australia during the 2015 Rugby World Cup.