Carlos Spencer

Carlos Spencer

Carlos Spencer
Full name	Carlos James Spencer
Date of birth	14 October 1975 (1975-10-14)
Place of birth	Levin, New Zealand
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Weight	100 kg (15 st 10 lb)
School	Waiopehu College
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position	Fly Half, Fullback
New Zealand No.	951
Amateur clubs
Years	Club / team
1994-2004	Ponsonby
Professional / senior clubs
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
2005-2009 2009-2010	Northampton Saints Gloucester Rugby	102	(235)
Provincial/State sides
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
1993-2004 1992-1993	Auckland Horowhenua Golden Lions	93 0	(515) (0)
Super Rugby
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
1996–2005 2010–2011	Blues Lions	96 3	(608) (5)
correct as of 9 March 2010.
National team(s)
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
1995–2004	New Zealand	35	(291)
correct as of 1 September 2006.
Coaching career
Years	Club / team
2012-	Lions
Rugby union career

Carlos James Spencer (born 14 October 1975 in Levin) is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer who is currently the kicking coach for the Lions. He previously also played at fly-half (first five-eighth) for the Lions in the Super Rugby and for the New Zealand All Blacks. He is well known for his flamboyant, attacking play and ball handling skills. He has signed to play for the Lions for 2010 and 2011, before moving into coaching.

Club career

He has generally specialised in the position of fly-half, also known as "first five-eighth" or "number 10", although he has also played fullback (number 15) at national and international levels.

Spencer first rose to prominence when he starred alongside Christian Cullen in a Ranfurly Shield challenge in 1991, playing for the Horowhenua team against Auckland. Auckland coach Graham Henry spotted Spencer's talent and recruited him to play for the Auckland team.

He played for the Blues Super 12 team from the inception of the competition in 1996 until 2005, and has played extensively for the Auckland National Provincial Championship (NPC) side. In 1996, Spencer played for the Blues in the first ever Super 12-match, kicking off the professional era of rugby union. He went on to score 608 points for the Blues in the Super Rugby competition.

In 2005 he signed to the English club, Northampton Saints. Early in 2007, he was linked with a move away from Northampton at the end of the 2006-07 season, but soon committed his loyalty to the club. He then enjoyed a marvellous season marshalling a weakened Saints outfit back into the Premiership. He spent time at fullback early in the season, as the new Saints' coaches attempted to build up the experience in the squad. However his spark was missing closer in, and he was restored to the "10" shirt for the last half of the season. The Saints also won the EDF cup at Twickenham. A selfless inspiration all season, Spencer was rewarded with a two-year extension to his contract which he accepted despite overtures for his signature in Wellington, South Africa and France. He was strongly favoured to win the Saints "Player of the year" award for the second time.

On 30 January 2009, Carlos Spencer left Northampton Saints by mutual consult by buying out the existing term of his two-year contract, and on 3 February 2009 he signed for Gloucester on what was thought to be a 17-month contract.

It was announced on 6 January 2010 that Spencer had also signed for the Johannesburg-based Golden Lions, to play for the team in the 2010 and 2011 Super Rugby seasons. The contract offered to him was said at the time to be the highest ever in South Africa.

International career

Spencer first played for the All Blacks in a non-test tour match on 4 November 1995, but did not play his first test match until 1997. His test debut was against Argentina at Athletic Park in Wellington on 28 June that year. He scored 33 points in that match alone.

His All Black appearances were somewhat irregular thereafter, as Andrew Mehrtens was generally preferred as the first-choice flyhalf for the side during the period from 1995-2002. He was selected for the 1999 All Blacks World Cup squad but became injured in training at London, so did not play a match in that tournament. However, following an exceptional season for the Blues in Super 12, Spencer became first-choice first five-eighth for the All Blacks in 2003, and was a part of the squad for the Rugby World Cup that year.

In 2004, Carlos Spencer struggled to find the same form he had displayed the previous year, and Mehrtens replaced him for the final game of that year's Tri Nations. He was then ruled out of the final All Black tour of the year through injury. In 2005 Spencer lost form early in the Super 12 competition and then suffered a fractured cheekbone in training. He agreed to play for the New Zealand Māori (in his 10th match for that team) against the touring Lions, but made himself unavailable for the All Blacks so that he would not miss training for his new English club, Northampton Saints.

As a player, Spencer is valued for his imaginative kicking and passing game, and his ability to unlock defences. He is also a handy, if not entirely reliable, goal kicker. Only three players have scored more test points than Spencer for New Zealand — Grant Fox, Andrew Mehrtens and most recently, Daniel Carter. His best performances came against South African sides against whom he enjoyed great success. Indeed his record against the Boks is amongst the best of all All Black players and contrasts with his predecessor and successor who have both struggled.

Boxing

On 3 December 2011, Spencer stepped into the boxing ring against Rugby League star Awen Guttenbeil in Fight for Life 2011 in Auckland, New Zealand. The fight was controversially ruled a draw despite Spencer knocking down Guttenbeil with seconds remaining on the last round.

Awards and honours

In 2006, Spencer was named in the Guinness Premiership Awards Dream Team and collected the Player of the Year award for the 2005-06 season at the Northampton Saints annual awards, as voted for by the clubs fans. He played in four matches for Bob Dwyer's World XV team in 2006, including a match for the Barbarians against England at Twickenham on 28 May and a 30-27 loss to the Springboks at Ellis Park on 3 June.

External links

• Gloucester profile
• Northampton profile
• Video tribute on Rugbydump.com
• Official site-Mrtvý odkaz
• Carlos Spencer at AllBlacks.com
• Blues profile