Matt Giteau

Matt Giteau

Full name	Matt Giteau
Date of birth	29 September 1982 (1982-09-29)
Place of birth	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Height	178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	85 kg (13 st 5 lb)
School	St Edmunds College, Canberra
Notable relative(s)	Ron Giteau (father) Bianca Giteau (wife) Kristy Giteau (sister)
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position	Inside centre Fly-half Halfback
Professional / senior clubs
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
2011–	Toulon
Super Rugby
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
2001–2006 2007–2009 2010–2011	Brumbies Force Brumbies	40 37 12	(151) (296) (90)
correct as of 13 March 2010.
National team(s)
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
2002–2011	Australia	92	(684)
correct as of 4 December 2011.

Matthew Giteau (born on 29 September 1982 in Sydney, Australia) is an Australian rugby union footballer, a former international who now plays for the French Top 14 side Toulon. He attended St Edmund's College, Canberra, which has produced other Wallabies including George Gregan, Matt Henjak and the former rugby league star and now coach Ricky Stuart. He gained 61 Super Rugby caps and 92 Test caps.

Giteau is a utility back. His usual positions are inside-centre and fly-half, although he started his career as a scrum-half. He played for Australia for the first time in 2002 against England at Twickenham and was named as one of the five best players in the world in 2004.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

His father Ron Giteau is a former rugby league player, and his older sister Kristy is a dual-code rugby international for Australia. His wife Bianca (née Franklin) is a netball player with the Adelaide Thunderbirds.

The Giteaus were married on the Gold Coast on 11 December 2010.

Playing career

2001-2005

Giteau made his debut for the ACT Brumbies in 2001 and the Wallabies in 2002. During this time he won two Super Rugby titles with the Brumbies in the 2001 Super 12 season and the 2004 Super 12 season and was a part of the Wallabies at the 2003 Rugby World Cup.

2006–2007

In April 2006 he announced that he would play for the Western Force Super Rugby team, in the 2007 Super 14 season. He was included in the Wallabies' 2006 mid-year rugby tests squad, but was ruled out with an injury. However he recovered in time for the 2006 Tri Nations Series. He came off the bench in the first game in the series. In 2007, Giteau was selected for the Wallabies 2007 Rugby World Cup and 2008 squad and was first choice No. 12. He also had gained 40 test points, putting him in the top scorer's list in the competition. Giteau was taking injuries into the match when the Wallabies lost in the quarter-final to England 10–12. After the Rugby World Cup had finished, Giteau was picked for the Barbarians team to face the winners that had won the Rugby World Cup that year, South Africa. While playing in the No. 10 jersey, the Barbarians won comfortably winning 22–5 and Giteau scoring a try.

2008: Playing no.10

In 2008, new Wallabies Coach Robbie Deans anointed Giteau as Australia's new fly-half, following the retirement of Wallaby legend Stephen Larkham. Giteau had made a good start^{[citation needed]} at playing no.10 while facing Ireland and France in the mid year test and was also a good build-up for Giteau to play in the 10 jersey in the Tri Nations. In the 2008 Tri Nations Series, Giteau played in all six games and he started to become 'World Class'^{[citation needed]} in the fly half position. Had good games against the All Blacks winning 34–22 at the ANZ Stadium in Sydney, and against South Africa winning 27–15 at Kings Park Stadium in Durban.

Super 15: Western Force & Brumbies

Giteau played for the Western Force for three years (2007–2009). In the 2007 Super 14 season the Force finshed seventh, recording their first home win (an 17–18 upset against the Hurricanes). In 2010 he moved back to Canberra and played again for the Brumbies for the 2010 Super 14 season and the 2011 Super 15 season.

Move to France

During the 2011 Super Rugby season, Giteau signed with big-spending French club Toulon, a move that would take effect after the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Despite not being selected for the Australia World Cup squad, he could not join Toulon until mid-November, as he was still under contract with the Australian Rugby Union through the World Cup.

International tries

Matt Giteau's international tries
Try	Opposing team	City/country	Venue	Competition	Year
[1]	Romania	Brisbane, Australia	Suncorp Stadium	Rugby World Cup	2003
[2–4]	Namibia	Adelaide, Australia	Adelaide Oval	Rugby World Cup	2003
[5]	Scotland	Melbourne, Australia	Docklands Stadium	Hopetoun Cup	2004
[6–7]	Pacific Islanders	Melbourne, Australia	Docklands Stadium	Test Match	2004
[8]	Scotland	Glasgow, Scotland	Hampden Park	Hopetoun Cup	2004
[9]	Italy	Melbourne, Australia	Docklands Stadium	Test Match	2005
[10–11]	South Africa	Sydney, Australia	Stadium Australia	Mandela Challenge Plate	2005
[12–13]	South Africa	Brisbane, Australia	Suncorp Stadium	Tri Nations	2006
[14]	Wales	Cardiff, Wales	Millennium Stadium	Test Match	2006
[15]	Wales	Sydney, Australia	Stadium Australia	James Bevan Trophy	2007
[17]	South Africa	Sydney, Australia	Stadium Australia	Tri Nations	2007
[18]	Wales	Cardiff, Wales	Millennium Stadium	Rugby World Cup	2007
[19–20]	Fiji	Montpellier, France	Stade de la Mosson	Rugby World Cup	2007
[21]	France	Sydney, Australia	Stadium Australia	Trophée des Bicentenaires	2007
[22]	Italy	Canberra, Australia	Canberra Stadium	Test Match	2009
[23]	France	Sydney, Australia	Stadium Australia	Trophée des Bicentenaires	2009
[24]	South Africa	Cape Town, South Africa	Newlands Stadium	Tri Nations	2009
[25–26]	South Africa	Perth, Australia	Subiaco Oval	Tri Nations	2009
[27–28]	England	Sydney, Australia	ANZ Stadium	Test Match	2010

External links

• Brumbies profile
• Wallabies profile