Matt Giteau
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This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2011) |
| Full name | Matthew James Giteau | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 29 September 1982 | ||
| 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) |
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| Rugby union career | |||
| Current status | |||
| Current team | Toulon | ||
| Playing career | |||
| Position | Inside centre Fly-half Halfback |
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| Professional / senior clubs | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 2011– | Toulon | 97 | (292) |
| correct as of 11 April 2015. | |||
| Super Rugby | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 2001–06 2007–09 2010–11 |
Brumbies Force Brumbies |
40 37 27 |
(151) (296) (307) |
| National team(s) | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 2002–2011, 2015- | Australia | 100 | (698) |
| correct as of 18 October 2015. | |||
Matthew ("Matt") James Giteau (born 29 September 1982)[1] is an Australian rugby union player who now plays for the French Top 14 side Toulon. During his career he appeared in 61 Super Rugby matches, and gained 100 test caps with the Australia national rugby union team.
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 the Wallabies for the first time in 2002 against England at Twickenham and was a nominee for the International Rugby Board Player of the Year in 2004.[1]
Contents
Personal life[edit]
He attended St Edmund's College, Canberra,[1] which has produced other Wallabies including George Gregan, Matt Henjak and the former rugby league star and now coach Ricky Stuart.
His father Ron Giteau is a former rugby league player, and his older sister Kristy is a dual-code rugby international for Australia. On 11 December 2010, Matt Giteau married Bianca Franklin, a netball player with the Adelaide Thunderbirds.[2]
Playing career[edit]
2001–05[edit]
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.
2006–07[edit]
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 took injuries into the match, and the Wallabies lost in the quarter-final to England 10–12.
Following Rugby World Cup, Giteau played fly-half for the Barbarians against Rugby World Cup winners South Africa. Giteau scored a try, and the Barbarians won 22–5.
2008[edit]
In 2008, new Wallabies Coach Robbie Deans anointed Giteau as Australia's new fly-half, following the retirement of Stephen Larkham.
Giteau played fly-half against Ireland and France in the mid year test. In the 2008 Tri Nations Series, Giteau played in all six games. He played 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.[citation needed]
He was also a part of the Wallabies' record loss that following week to South Africa 53-8.
Super Rugby: Western Force and Brumbies[edit]
Giteau played for the Western Force for 2007–09. In 2007 the Force finished seventh, and recorded their first home win (17–18 against the Hurricanes).
In 2010 Giteau returned to Canberra and the Brumbies, where he played for 2010 and 2011.
Move to France[edit]
During the 2011 Super Rugby season, Giteau signed with the French club Toulon, a move that would take effect after the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Despite not being selected for the Australian 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.[3] In May 2013 he started as Toulon won the 2013 Heineken Cup Final by 16–15 against Clermont Auvergne. He has won 3 European titles with Toulon starting all 3. In 2015 they wrote history for winning 3 successive European titles, (2013 at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin vs Clermont 16-15, 2014 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff vs Saracens 23-6 & 2015 at Twickenham Stadium, London vs Clermont 24-18). He also won the top14 orange in 2014.[4]
2015[edit]
In 2015, appointed coach Michael Chieka made negotiations with the Australian Rugby Union to allow players with 60 caps or more eligible to represent the Wallabies despite not playing in the Super Rugby. He played against the Springboks winning 24-20 at the Suncorp Stadium, and against the All Blacks 27-19 at the ANZ Stadium. Giteau was selected in the Wallabies 31 Man squad to represent in the 2015 Rugby World Cup. In October, during the 2015 Rugby World Cup, Giteau scored his 30th International try for the Wallabies as part of their win against England, knocking them out of the tournament.[5]
International tries[edit]
| Matt Giteau's international tries[6] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Try | Opposing team | City/country | Venue | Competition | Year | |
| [1] | Brisbane, Australia | Suncorp Stadium | Rugby World Cup | 2003 | ||
| [2–4] | Adelaide, Australia | Adelaide Oval | Rugby World Cup | 2003 | ||
| [5] | Melbourne, Australia | Docklands Stadium | Hopetoun Cup | 2004 | ||
| [6–7] | Pacific Islanders | Melbourne, Australia | Docklands Stadium | Test Match | 2004 | |
| [8] | Glasgow, Scotland | Hampden Park | Hopetoun Cup | 2004 | ||
| [9] | Melbourne, Australia | Docklands Stadium | Test Match | 2005 | ||
| [10–11] | Sydney, Australia | Stadium Australia | Mandela Challenge Plate | 2005 | ||
| [12–13] | Brisbane, Australia | Suncorp Stadium | Tri Nations | 2006 | ||
| [14] | Cardiff, Wales | Millennium Stadium | Test Match | 2006 | ||
| [15] | Sydney, Australia | Stadium Australia | James Bevan Trophy | 2007 | ||
| [17] | Sydney, Australia | Stadium Australia | Tri Nations | 2007 | ||
| [18] | Cardiff, Wales | Millennium Stadium | Rugby World Cup | 2007 | ||
| [19–20] | Montpellier, France | Stade de la Mosson | Rugby World Cup | 2007 | ||
| [21] | Sydney, Australia | Stadium Australia | Trophée des Bicentenaires | 2007 | ||
| [22] | Canberra, Australia | Canberra Stadium | Test Match | 2009 | ||
| [23] | Sydney, Australia | Stadium Australia | Trophée des Bicentenaires | 2009 | ||
| [24] | Cape Town, South Africa | Newlands Stadium | Tri Nations | 2009 | ||
| [25–26] | Perth, Australia | Subiaco Oval | Tri Nations | 2009 | ||
| [27–28] | Sydney, Australia | ANZ Stadium | Test Match | 2010 | ||
| [29] | Sydney, Australia | ANZ Stadium | Test Match | 2011 | ||
| [30] | Twickenham,England | Twickenham Stadium | Rugby World Cup | 2015 | ||
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "Matt Giteau: Player profile". ESPN Scrum. ESPN year=2011. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
- ^ Low, Clair (14 December 2010). "Giteau gets hitched under veil of secrecy". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
- ^ Bernaudeau, Eric (15 November 2011). "Former Wallabies fly-half Matt Giteau joins teammates for first training session with French club Toulon". Fox Sports Australia. AAP. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
- ^ "Toulon claim Heineken Cup glory". ESPN. 18 March 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^ "England out of Rugby World Cup as Australia win 33-13". BBC Sport. 3 October 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
- ^ "Player Analysis: Matt Giteau". Scrum. ESPN. 11 March 2010. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
External links[edit]
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- 1982 births
- Living people
- Australian Institute of Sport rugby union players
- Australian rugby union players
- Australia international rugby union players
- Brumbies players
- RC Toulonnais players
- Western Force players
- Rugby union centres
- Rugby union fly-halves
- Rugby sevens players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
- Australian people of French descent
- Expatriate rugby union players in France
- Australian international rugby sevens players