Stephen Larkham

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Stephen Larkham
Date of birth	1974-05-29
Place of birth	Canberra, ACT
Height	1.89 m
Weight	88 kg
Nickname	Bernie
Rugby union career
Position	Fly-half Inside centre
Provincial/State sides		Caps	(points)
1990-2004	ACT and Southern NSW	112	(214)
correct as of 9 September 2006.
Super Rugby
1996-present	Brumbies	127	(204)
Current local club:	Canberra Wests
correct as of 2006-09-12.
National team(s)
1996-present	Australia	82	(112)
correct as of 2006-09-12.
Other Information
School  attended	Lyneham High, Canberra
University	Dickson College

Stephen Larkham (born 29 May 1974 in Canberra) is an Australian rugby union footballer with the Brumbies in the Super 14 and the Wallabies on international level. Larkham has been the first-choice Australian fly-half to play in recent years, playing in both the 1999 and 2003 Rugby World Cups. His nickname is "Bernie", after the corpse in Weekend at Bernie's.

He is known for his varied skills as a playmaker, able both to run with the ball in hand and also to kick accurately behind attacking defences. However, his apparent frailty and injury has taken a toll on recent appearances. Recently, he was out of action for several weeks in 2005 after the removal of a cancerous growth from the back of his left knee; he faces tests twice yearly for the rest of his life to monitor his condition. [1] Later that year, he suffered a shoulder injury that kept him out of the 2005 Tri Nations Series.

Although weighing in at a mere 88 kilograms his playmaking skill is superb. He has vision, perhaps, like no other flyhalf has ever had. He plays his game on instinct and senses the best options. His tactical kicking, allied with his vision, will devastate a team with tactical weaknesses. Few fullbacks can cover all the potential space that Larkham opens.

There had been talk about Larkham playing inside centre on the 2006 European tour.

Larkham was named in the 37 man squad that toured Europe in November. He was selected as one of the team's four Vice Captains for the tour; the Wallabies went without a designated captain as regular captain George Gregan chose to sit out the November tour in order to physically save himself for the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

[edit] External Links

• Brumbies Profile
• Wallabies Profile

Forum

[edit] See Also

• The Brumbies
• The Wallabies
• Wallaby Team of the Decade

[2]link title