Stephen Larkham
Stephen Larkham was born in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia on May 29th, 1974 and is the Rugby Player. At the age of 49, Stephen Larkham biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 49 years old, Stephen Larkham has this physical status:
Stephen Larkham (born 29 May 1974) is a retired Australian rugby union player who now serves as the head coach for Ireland provincial side Munster, who compete in the Pro14 and Champions Cup.
He is best known for his time with the Brumbies in Super Rugby, for whom he played from 1996 to 2007, as well as his long time with the Wallabies at international level, for whom he played 102 times.
Larkham was the first-choice Australian fly-half from 1997 to 2007, competing in the 1999, 2003, and 2007 Rugby World Cups from 1996 to 1997, after initial selection from 1996 to 1997.
He is married to Jacqueline and has two children, Jaimee and Tiahna.
Playing career
Larkham began his career as a fullback and developed into one of Australia's top fly-halves in 2005, being named in 2005 as the first ten years of professional rugby union (the "decade" being the first ten years. Larkham was one of the best flyhalves in world rugby at his peak, with a reputation as an elusive runner and lynchpin of a potent backline.
He first became noticed in 1995 when he was plucked from reserve grade rugby to represent ACT in the Super 12 as a utility back in the Brumbies squad, playing in a number of Super 12 games before attracting the national selectors' interest. In 1996, Larkham made his test debut against Wales as a reserve, and then joined the Wallabies on their undefeated tour of Europe. With a two-try performance in the Wallabies final Test against Scotland at Murrayfield in 1997, Larkham was more than a decent replacement at fullback for the injured Matt Burke. Larkham began his three-year contract with Japanese side Ricoh Black Rams on January 16, 2008. Larkham negotiated an early release after two full seasons in Japan in order to return to Australia. He spent time in Japan for the first half of the 2010-11 Top League season, before returning to Canberra in November 2010 to take over as the Brumbies' attack coach.
Larkham's move from fullback to flyhalf has been lauded as a Rod Macqueen masterstroke that has put the Wallabies on par with winning the 1999 Rugby World Cup. This was initially a contentious pick because his tactical ability was seen as ineffective for the position; however, his ability to get the Australian back line up and through gaps himself sparked the discussion. "Anyone who thinks (Larkham) is a dud flyhalf needs their head read," Simon Poidevin said when describing Australian television during the third test against the All Blacks in 1998. (Is inaccurate) and was later found to be incorrect, but this was later confirmed to be correct.
The Larkham's legendary 48-drop goal to seal victory over South Africa in extra time of the 1999 Rugby World Cup semi-final has fallen down in rugby folklore as the defining moment in the Wallabies' triumphant Rugby World Cup campaign. South Africa advanced to the semi-finals largely due to Jannie de Beer's five-drop goals in their last match. On the other hand, not one of the Australian players on the team had to score a drop goal at test level until this date. "He can barely stand on the leg and yet thwacked it over" during Larkham's match, sparking Steve Smith to remark incredulously.
The feat was even more remarkable as Larkham's eyesight was poor at the time. Since 1999, he's had laser surgery to improve his vision, but at the time he couldn't see the goal posts clearly.
Several television commercials in Australia mocked Larkham's inability of kick prowess following Australia's win over France in the World Cup final. The commercial featured current and former players, junior and senior coaches (including former Australian coach Rod MacQueen), as well as Australian rugby stars (such as Phil Kearns) expressing their astonishment that Larkham managed to score. With Larkham's school coaches' comments that he was a bad kicker and had never scored a drop-goal in a match, the commercial begins. The climax of the commercial features, as well as Matt Burke, Kearns, and MacQueen, all said, "Don't kick it." As the moment is recreated, a video of the moment is replayed. On YouTube, the commercial is available.
Larkham was a key member of the Australian 2003 World Cup squad that lost in the tournament final to England. He has suffered a great deal from injuries throughout his life, especially in his knees and right elbow. Despite these, he remained a good defender despite his relatively thin frame. He had also been tested inside center by John Connolly for one test against Wales in 2006, but the experiment was not a success, and he never returned to play there again.
He was known for his long-running friendship with George Gregan, both of whom were foundation players with the ACT Brumbies rugby team. Not only were they the two most capped Wallabies when they retired after the 2007 World Cup, but they were also in more Tests than any other scrum-half-half combination in history, with 79 appearances together. So important was their contribution to the team that was born in Bruce Stadium (Canberra Stadium) in 2007, the "Gregan-Larkham Stand" was unveiled in honor of both players and their union to the team.
He appeared in his last test against Japan in the 2007 World Cup before suffering a knee injury, effectively ending his Test career as Australia were then ruled out of the tournament before returning to Australia.
Despite larger bids from French and English teams, Larkham signed a World Cup contract with Edinburgh Rugby in Scotland to join them after the 2007 World Cup, but the Scottish Rugby Union refused to fund the scheme. Leeds, which also includes the Welsh Dragons, was promoting Leeds. However, it was announced in January 2008 that he would join Ricoh Black Rams of Japan.
In September 2012, Larkham played for the ACT Veterans Rugby Club in Hawaii at the World Vintage Rugby Carnival. He also served as a reserve for an old boys team from Brazil who, not knowing who he was, begged him to play in second row because he was tall. Despite his other commitments, Larkham occasionally plays with the ACT Veterans to help them raise funds for the charities they support. He was named GENLEC Player of the Day jacket on February 18, 2018, for his outstanding play and sportsmanship in the Clare Holland Cup charity match.