WORLD XV SQUAD: MAY/JUNE 2006
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26 March 1973 1.83 m 94 kg Newcastle Falcons Fullback Australia – 81 caps |
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| If you talk about the greatest fullbacks of all time, then Australian Matthew Burke would be right up there. Burke was a national hero in his homeland after kicking the Wallabies to the 1999 Rugby World Cup in Wales. He scored a remarkable 24 points against South Africa in the semi-final, and then bettered it with 25 against France in the final to rack up a total of 101 in the competition. A magnificent ten-year international career has seen Burke rack up 81 caps for the Wallabies, and his astonishing scoring at international level is demonstrated by the fact that his tally of 878 points was the fifth highest of all time when he retired from Test rugby in June 2004. | |||
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Born: |
20 September 1975 1.91 m 101 kg Kubota Spears Wing/Fullback Australia – 76 caps |
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| Joe Roff’s rugby career kicked off in 1994 when he was a standout performer on the Emerging Wallabies tour of South Africa where he scored 109 points from just five matches. He played at the Hong Kong Sevens the next season then won selection in the 1995 RWC squad where he made his Test debut against Canada and scored the first of his 26 Test tries. Roff played a vital role in Australia's RWC triumph in 1999, and celebrated his 50th Test appearance against the Springboks in the semi-final. Roff is the Brumbies’ all-time leading try scorer. | |||
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6 April 1976 1.84 m 93 kg Northampton Saints Centre/Wing New Zealand – 2 caps |
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| Between 1997 and 2002, Bruce Reihana played 58 Super 12 matches for the Chiefs, scoring 123 points. At the end of the 2002 season Reihana took up an overseas contract when he was only 26 and seemingly had much still to offer New Zealand rugby. Reihana's only time in the All Blacks came in the 1999-2000 seasons and was brief. He went to the 1999 World Cup as a replacement in the squad for the injured Carlos Spencer, but he did not receive any game time. In 2000 Reihana became an All Black when he made the short tour of France and Italy. He played in the second Test loss against France in Marseilles and in the international against Italy, scoring two tries in the 56-19 win. | |||
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Born: |
14 October 1975 1.84 m 95 kg Northampton Saints Flyhalf New Zealand – 43 caps |
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| Carlos Spencer, named Northampton’s Player of the Season for 2005/2006, has been described as "the genius", "the magician", "King Carlos" and "the conductor of the orchestra". His guile, deception and pace, and his ability to open up games for his outside backs give rise to these descriptions. It was these same qualities which, as a Horowhenua teenager he used to bamboozle the Auckland side in the Ranfurly Shield Challenge in the 1993 season. The spectacular try which he scored in that game really became the beginning of his journey to professional rugby. Carlos shares with Simon Culhane and Andrew Mehrtens the record of achieving 100 points in their first five tests. The 25 points he scored at Eden Park in 1997 was the then second highest scored by anyone in a test match against South Africa. Carlos is the third highest points scorer for the All Blacks in test matches and was the top points scorer in Super 12 2003 with 143 points. | |||
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5 August 1973 1.79 m 94 kg Neath-Swansea Ospreys Scrum-half New Zealand – 81 caps |
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| Marshall began his rugby union career with Southland and later joined Canterbury where he first made the break into the All Blacks side for the 1995 tour of Italy and France. Marshall was just 22 when he made his debut against France in a 37-2 win. In 1997 Marshall was made captain of New Zealand and led out his team in four tests in Great Britain, becoming the All Blacks' 54th Test captain. He has made 81 appearances for the All Blacks, with a record of 61 wins, one draw and just 19 defeats. Marshall is the highest capped scrum-half in All Blacks history. He has scored a record 24 Test tries for New Zealand, a tally that more than doubles the next best for an All Blacks scrum-half, held by Sid Going. | |||
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21 August 1975 1.78 m 86 kg Northampton Saints Scrum-half New Zealand – 3 caps |
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The former Auckland Blues and All Blacks scrum-half joined Northampton Saints in 2003/2004 after a brief spell with the New Zealand Warriors rugby league team. Robinson was shortlisted for the PRA’s Players’ Player of the Year award and the Zurich Premiership Overseas Player of the Year awards in that season – but lost out both times to team mate Bruce Reihana. He continued in the same rich vein of form in 2004/2005 and made his mark as the most physical scrum-half in the Zurich Premiership. Robinson has helped nurture his former Blues team mate Carlos Spencer into his new life at the Saints and the Robinson-Spencer partnership looks set to get better and better. |
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21 January 1975 1.75 m 79 kg Saracens Flyhalf/Centre France – 44 caps |
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Thomas Castaignede joined Saracens in 2000 and in the 11 games he played in he scored an average of 18 points in each before injuring his Achilles whilst warming up for France. This injury kept him out of action for 18 months and it wasn't until April 2002 that he was able to return to action. Thomas made a name for himself when he drop kicked the winning points, in the final minute, which defeated England in the 1995 Five Nations. Playing for Toulouse at the time, Thomas helped the side win three successive French titles as well as the European Cup. |
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22 July 1982 1.80 m 88 kg Blues Outside back New Zealand – 1 cap |
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One of the standout players for Auckland during the 2005 Air New Zealand NPC, Nacewa showed his versatility playing fullback, wing and in the midfield. In each position he excelled earning high praise from fans and team mates alike. Nacewa first got a taste of the Rebel Sport Super 12 in 2003 when he toured with the squad to South Africa, and later that year was part of the Fijian squad for the World Cup. He was one of the stand-out performers in a disappointing Blues showing during the inaugural Super 14 in 2006. |
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31 March 1976 1.83 m 94 kg London Wasps Centre England – 2 caps |
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Fraser Waters is rated one of the top centres within the English Premiership and is unlucky not to have more England caps. He was a member of the England Churchill Cup winning squad against Canada and the USA in 2003 and also played in the later game against a Japan select XV. He made his England A debut back in 1999 having represented England Schools, Colts, U21s and Students and joined London Wasps from Bristol Shoguns. |
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Born: |
9 November 1971 1.90 m 99 kg Narbonne Centre France – 2 caps |
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Capped twice by France, Cedric Debrosse was a member of the Toulouse squad that won the Heineken Cup in 2003. He joined Narbonne in 2005. |
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