Stephen Larkham

Stephen Larkham

Date of birth	(1974-05-29) 29 May 1974 (age 49)
Place of birth	Canberra, ACT, Australia
Height	189 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	88 kg (13.9 st; 194 lb)
School	Lyneham High, Canberra Dickson College Canberra[1]
University	Australian National University
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fullback Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2008–2010 Ricoh Black Rams () Provincial / State sides Years Team Apps (Points) 1990–2004 ACT & S. NSW 112 (214) Correct as of 9 September 2006 Super Rugby Years Team Apps (Points) 1996–2007 Brumbies 127 (204) Correct as of 2006-09-12 International career Years Team Apps (Points) 1996–2007 Australia 102 (135) Correct as of 2007-07-07 Coaching career Years Team 2011–2013 2014–2017 2015–2019 2019–2022 2022– Brumbies

Stephen Larkham (born 29 May 1974) is a retired

. He is married to Jacqueline and has two children, Jaimee and Tiahna.

Playing career

Having started his career as a fullback, Larkham developed into one of the greatest fly-halves in the history of Australian rugby, being named in 2005 at the position in Australia's team of the decade (the "decade" being the first 10 years of professional rugby union). At his peak, Larkham was one of the best flyhalves in world rugby,^{[citation needed]} with reputation as an elusive runner and the lynchpin of a potent backline.

He first gained notice in 1995 when he was plucked from reserve grade club rugby to represent ACT in the Super 12 as a utility back in the Brumbies squad, playing a number of Super 12 games before attracting the attention of the national selectors. Larkham made his test debut as a reserve against Wales in Sydney in 1996 when he replaced injured

Fullback to Fly Half transition

Larkham's conversion from fullback to flyhalf is now hailed as a Rod Macqueen masterstroke that put the Wallabies on track to win the 1999 Rugby World Cup.^{[citation needed]} This was initially a controversial selection as his tactical kicking was regarded as too weak for the position; however, his ability to get the Australian back line going and to slide through gaps himself quickly ended the debate. Simon Poidevin while commenting for Australian TV remarked during the third test against the All Blacks in 1998 that "anyone who thinks (Larkham) is a dud flyhalf needs their head read" (i.e. is wrong) and this was eventually accepted to be correct.

1999 Rugby World Cup drop-goal

Larkham's famous 48m-drop goal to seal victory over South Africa in extra time of the

"He can barely stand on that leg and yet he just thwacked it over." The feat was even more remarkable as Larkham's eyesight was very poor at the time. Since 1999 he has had laser surgery to correct his vision, however at the time he could not see the goal posts clearly.^{[citation needed]}

Following Australia's victory over France in the World Cup final, several television commercials aired in Australia humorously mocking Larkham's lack of kicking prowess. The commercial featured players and coaches expressing their astonishment that Larkham scored. The commercial begins with Larkham's school coaches saying he was a poor kicker, and had never successfully scored a drop-goal in a match. The climax of the commercial features then-captain John Eales, as well as Matt Burke, Kearns and MacQueen each saying "Don't kick it!" as footage of the moment is replayed. The commercial is available to view on YouTube.

Later career

Larkham was an important part of the Australian 2003 World Cup squad which lost in the tournament final to England. He has suffered greatly from injuries through his career, especially to his knees and right elbow. Despite these he remained a competent defender in spite of his relatively light frame. He was also tried at inside centre by

for one test against Wales 2006 but the experiment was not regarded a success and he never played there again.

He was famous for forming a long-standing half-back partnership with

), a new stand was unveiled as the "Gregan-Larkham Stand" in honour of both players and their combination to the team.

He played his last test against Japan in the 2007 World Cup before a knee injury sidelined him, which effectively ended his Test career as Australia were then knocked out of the competition before he could return.

On 14 May 2007, despite larger offers from French and English teams, Larkham signed a contract with

Ricoh Black Rams

of Japan.

Larkham played for the ACT Veterans Rugby Club at the World Vintage Rugby Carnival in Hawaii in September 2012. During this carnival he also played as a reserve for an old boys team from Brazil who, not realising who he was, asked him to play second row because he was tall. Despite his other commitments, Larkham occasionally still plays with the ACT Veterans to help them raise funds for the charities they support. On 18 February 2018, he received the GENLEC Player of the Day jacket for his great play and sportsmanship in the Clare Holland Cup charity match.

Coaching

Brumbies and Australia

In 2010, Larkham returned to the Brumbies ahead of the

being appointed joint coaches for that season. They finished second in the Australian conference and fourth in the standings after the regular season. They faced the Waratahs in the semi-final, losing 26–8 in Sydney.

In 2015, Fisher left his role to join Gloucester, with Stephen being appointed head coach. In Larkhams's debut season as head coach, he led the Brumbies to the semi-final of the 2015 Super Rugby season, finishing sixth in the overall standings at the end of the regular season. The Brumbies finished with 9 out of 16 wins, which included 3 wins over South African opposition and 2 wins over New Zealand opposition. The season also included a 29–0 win over the Queensland Reds in Brisbane, to make the Brumbies the first team to have held a team scoreless twice against the same opponent.^[6] During the qualifier round, the Brumbies convincingly beat the Stormers in Cape Town 39–19, to set up an away semi-finals against first seeds Hurricanes. The Brumbies lost this match 29–9 to be eliminated from Champions contention.

On 27 February 2015, newly appointed Wallabies coach Michael Cheika appointed Larkham as the backs and attack coach for the national side for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.^[7] That campaign saw a marked improvement in the team's performance, with the Australians winning the shortened Rugby Championship competition that year, going on to eliminate World Cup hosts England in pool play, and contesting the final against New Zealand (losing 34–17).^[8] Larkham remained with the national side until February 2019, when he was controversially sacked by Cheika after coming under intense pressure following a number of years of poor results.^[9]

Munster

Larkham joined Irish provincial side

Return to Brumbies

Larkham returned to Brumbies in July 2022 to take up the position of head coach for the 2023 and 2024 Super Rugby Pacific seasons.[11]

Honours

Larkham was inducted into the

See also

• Brumbies
• Wallabies
• Wallaby Team of the Decade
• List of rugby union test caps leaders
• ACT Veterans Rugby Club

References

External links

• itsrugby.co.uk stats
• Brumbies Profile
• Wallabies Profile
• Remembering Bernie, a tribute to Stephen Larkham
• Ricoh unveils Larkham - Daily Yomiuri, 14 February 2008