Chris Latham (rugby union)

Chris Latham
Birth nameChristopher Eric Latham
Date of birth (1975-09-08) 8 September 1975 (age 49)
Place of birthNarrabri, New South Wales, Australia
Height192 cm (6 ft 4 in)[1]
Weight99 kg (15 st 8 lb)
SchoolNarrabri High School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fullback / Wing
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1997–1998 Waratahs 10 ()
1998–2008 Reds 117 (211)
2008–2010 Worcester Warriors 46 (42)
2010–2012 Kyuden Voltex ()
Correct as of 28 February 2012
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1998–2007 Australia 78 (200)
Correct as of 24 October 2011
National sevens team
Years Team Comps
1997, 2006 Australia
Correct as of 24 October 2011
Coaching career
Years Team
2013–2018 NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes (assistant)
2018–2019 Samoa (assistant)
2020 Utah Warriors
2024 Seattle Seawolves (assistant)

Chris Latham (born 8 September 1975) is an Australian former rugby union player who enjoyed a distinguished representative career with the Wests Bulldogs, Queensland Reds and Australia between 1998 and 2007 before signing with Worcester Warriors in the UK and later Japanese club Kyuden Voltex.

He was the head coach for the Utah Warriors for the 2020 Major League Rugby season.[2][3]

He stands as the second highest try scorer in Wallaby history with 40 international tries, only bettered by David Campese.

Career

Latham began his Super Rugby career with the New South Wales Waratahs before a move to the Queensland Reds in 1998 saw him cement his place as a starting No. 15. He went on to become the first player to win the Australian Super Rugby Player of the Year award four times (2000, 2003, 2004, 2005).[4]

Latham made his international debut against France on the 1998 Spring Tour and represented the Wallabies at three Rugby World Cups (1999, 2003 and 2007). At the 2003 tournament, he racked up an Australian record five-try haul against Namibia in Adelaide.[5]

At the Northern Hemisphere v Southern Hemisphere Tsunami Relief match held at Twickenham in March 2005, he scored two tries and was named man of the match.[6]

The following March, he represented the Australian Rugby Sevens team at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, but his campaign was cut short when he suffered a rib injury.[7]

On 12 September 2006, he became the first backline player to be awarded the John Eales Medal[8] and was later nominated by the International Rugby Board for Player of the Year, edged out for the award by New Zealand's Richie McCaw.[9]

Latham suffered misfortune in early 2007 when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in pre-season training with the Queensland Reds but managed to return for his third Rugby World Cup in October that year.

After a frustrating end to 2007 and start to the 2008 Super Rugby season where he battled a knee injury[10] his representative career in Australia came to an untimely close in his return match against the Crusaders. In what should have been his penultimate appearance for the Queensland Reds, he ruptured his pectoral muscle 13 minutes into the game, drawing an end to his playing days on Australian soil as he'd already announced a move to Worcester for the following two seasons.[11][12]

After leaving Worcester, he joined Kyuden Voltex, a second-division club in Japan, on a two-year contract. He was also involved in skills training and backs coaching at Kyuden, and helped them win promotion to the top division for 2012–13 before retiring in 2012.[13]

Stephen Jones, chief rugby correspondent for The Times and The Sunday Times, rated Latham as the finest fullback he has ever seen.[14]

References

  1. ^ "2001 Australian Wallabies squad — British & Irish Lions Tour". rugby.com.au. Australian Rugby Union. Archived from the original on 22 September 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  2. ^ "Utah Warriors New Head Coach Chris Latham Sets Sights High for Year Three". OurSports Central. 27 November 2019.
  3. ^ "Utah Warriors announce resignation of head coach Chris Latham". OurSports Central. 14 January 2021.
  4. ^ "Super Rugby Awards" (PDF). rugby.com.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  5. ^ "Australia annihilate Namibia". BBC. 25 October 2003. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  6. ^ "South victorious in tsunami rugby match". The Sydney Morning Herald. 6 March 2005. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  7. ^ "Rugby counts cost of sevens carnage". The Sydney Morning Herald. 18 March 2006. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  8. ^ "Chris Latham wins 2006 John Eales Medal". ARU. 12 September 2006. Archived from the original on 12 September 2006. Retrieved 12 September 2006.
  9. ^ "IRB announces Player of Year nominees". International Rugby Board. 23 July 2006. Archived from the original on 10 January 2008. Retrieved 17 September 2007.
  10. ^ AFP (5 April 2008). "Reds fullback Chris Latham sidelined with knee injury". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  11. ^ "Latham seals switch to Worcester". BBC. 18 December 2007. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  12. ^ "Chris Latham ends own Test career". The Australian. 13 May 2008. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  13. ^ "Ballymore grass calls to Latham". The Courier Mail. 2 March 2012. Archived from the original on 20 November 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  14. ^ "Chris Latham's last stand". Sunday Times. London. 7 September 2008. Retrieved 24 December 2008.[dead link‍]
Preceded by John Eales Medal
2006 		Succeeded by