Chris Latham (rugby player)
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| Chris Latham | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Chris Latham | ||
| Date of birth | 8 September 1975 | ||
| Place of birth | Narrabri, New South Wales | ||
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||
| Weight | 102 kg (16 st 1 lb) | ||
| Nickname | Latho | ||
| School | Narrabri High School | ||
| Rugby union career | |||
| Playing career | |||
| Position | Fullback, Wing | ||
| Super Rugby | Caps | (points) | |
| 1997 1998-2008 |
Waratahs Queensland Reds |
10 99 |
(211) |
| National team(s) | |||
| 1998-2007 | Australia | 78 | (200) |
| 7's National teams | |||
| 1997, 2006 | Australia | ||
Chris Latham (born 8 September 1975) is an Australian rugby union player, who plays at fullback for the Queensland Reds and Australia.
He currently stands as the 2nd highest try scorer (behind David Campese) in Wallaby history with 40 international tries (200 points).
[edit] Career
He started his career with the New South Wales Waratahs, but moved to Queensland in 1998 beginning a highly successful career with the Queensland Reds where he has been awarded the Australian Super 12 Player of the Year award 3 times (2000, 2003 and 2004). In 2005 he became the 21st player to win 100 caps for Queensland. Such is the love for "Latho" amongst the Queensland Reds supporters that amid speculation that he would move to Irish provincial club Munster the famous XXXX Hill was renamed the "Don't Go Latho" Hill in a successful effort to keep him in Queensland.
He made his international debut for Australia against France in 1998 and represented Australia in the 1999, 2003 and 2007 Rugby World Cups.
He was the star of the Northern Hemisphere v Southern Hemisphere Tsunami Relief match held at Twickenham in March 2005, in which he scored 3 tries in a game which pitted the best players from each hemisphere against each other.
Until 2004, his performance in the Super 12 had not translated to international rugby, where he was otherwise a choice for Australia in the absence of other candidates like Mat Rogers and the recently retired Matt Burke.
In February 2006, he was named in the Australian Rugby Sevens team to compete at the 2006 Commonwealth games, to be held in Melbourne where he suffered a rib injury.
On 12 September 2006 he was awarded the 2006 John Eales Medal[1]. He is the first back to be awarded the medal.
He is widely regarded as one of the best fullbacks in the world, and in 2006 was nominated by the International Rugby Board for played of the year.[2][3] Latham suffered severe misfortune in early 2007 when he ripped his anterior cruciate ligament in pre-season training with the Queensland Reds, endangering his chances of playing in his 3rd Rugby World Cup this year.
His return to the Wallabies team was seen as essential to their chances of success in the tournament.[4] and he did not disappoint in their ultimately unsuccessful campaign.
Latham's final season with the Reds was disrupted by injury. His round 13 return against the Crusaders should have been his penultimate appearance for the Reds, however, he ruptured his pectoral muscle 13 minutes into the match and this injury cruelly ended his Queensland and Australian career. This denied him a final round, home game farewell against the Waratahs, in what would have been his 100th Super Rugby appearance for the Reds.
Latham will move to Worcester Rugby Club in 2008 after recently signing a two year contract, he is said to be "very excited" about the move[5].
[edit] References
- ^ "Chris Latham wins 2006 John Eales Medal", ARU, 2006-09-12. Retrieved on 2006-09-12.
- ^ "IRB announces Player of Year nominees", irb.com, 2006-07-23. Retrieved on 2007-09-17.
- ^ The eventual winner was Richie McCaw however Latham was the only fullback nominated.
- ^ Wallabies v Springboks Match Report 18 June 2007. www.theroar.com.au.
- ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | My Club | Worcester | Latham seals switch to Worcester
[edit] External links
- Wallabies profile
- Sporting Heroes Profile
- 2006 Commonwealth Games Athlete Profile
- ARU Player Profile
- Reds Profile
| Preceded by Jeremy Paul |
John Eales Medal 2006 |
Succeeded by Nathan Sharpe |
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