Matt Giteau

Matt Giteau

Full name	Matthew James Giteau
Date of birth	(1982-09-29) 29 September 1982
Place of birth	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Height	178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	85 kg (13 st 5 lb)
School	St Edmunds College, Canberra
Notable relative(s)	Ron Giteau (father) Bianca Giteau (wife) Kristy Giteau (sister)
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position	Inside centre Fly-half Halfback
Professional / senior clubs
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
2011–	Toulon	97	(292)
correct as of 11 April 2015.
Super Rugby
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
2001–06 2007–09 2010–11	Brumbies Force Brumbies	40 37 27	(151) (296) (307)
National team(s)
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
2002–11	Australia	92	(684)
correct as of 4 December 2011.

Matthew ("Matt") James Giteau (born 29 September 1982)^[1] is an Australian rugby union player who now plays for the French Top 14 side Toulon. During his career he appeared in 61 Super Rugby matches, and gained 92 test caps with the Australia national rugby union team.

Giteau is a utility back. His usual positions are inside-centre and fly-half, although he started his career as a scrum-half. He played for the Wallabies for the first time in 2002 against England at Twickenham and was a nominee for the International Rugby Board Player of the Year in 2004.^[1]

Personal life

He attended St Edmund's College, Canberra,^[1] which has produced other Wallabies including George Gregan, Matt Henjak and the former rugby league star and now coach Ricky Stuart.

His father Ron Giteau is a former rugby league player, and his older sister Kristy is a dual-code rugby international for Australia. On 11 December 2010, Matt Giteau married Bianca Franklin, a netball player with the Adelaide Thunderbirds.^[2]

Playing career

2001–05

Giteau made his debut for the ACT Brumbies in 2001 and the Wallabies in 2002. During this time he won two Super Rugby titles with the Brumbies in the 2001 Super 12 season and the 2004 Super 12 season and was a part of the Wallabies at the 2003 Rugby World Cup.

2006–07

In April 2006 he announced that he would play for the Western Force Super Rugby team, in the 2007 Super 14 season. He was included in the Wallabies 2006 mid-year rugby tests squad, but was ruled out with an injury. However he recovered in time for the 2006 Tri Nations Series. He came off the bench in the first game in the series.

In 2007, Giteau was selected for the Wallabies 2007 Rugby World Cup and 2008 squad and was first choice No. 12. He also had gained 40 test points, putting him in the top scorer's list in the competition. Giteau took injuries into the match, and the Wallabies lost in the quarter-final to England 10–12.

Following Rugby World Cup, Giteau played fly-half for the Barbarians against Rugby World Cup winners South Africa. Giteau scored a try, and the Barbarians won 22–5.

2008

In 2008, new Wallabies Coach Robbie Deans anointed Giteau as Australia's new fly-half, following the retirement of Stephen Larkham.

Giteau played fly-half against Ireland and France in the mid year test. In the 2008 Tri Nations Series, Giteau played in all six games. He played against the All Blacks winning 34–22 at the ANZ Stadium in Sydney, and against South Africa winning 27–15 at Kings Park Stadium in Durban.

He was also a part of the Wallabies' record loss that following week to South Africa 53-8.

Super Rugby: Western Force and Brumbies

Giteau played for the Western Force for 2007–09. In 2007 the Force finished seventh, and recorded their first home win (17–18 against the Hurricanes).

In 2010 Giteau returned to Canberra and the Brumbies, where he played for 2010 and 2011.

Move to France

During the 2011 Super Rugby season, Giteau signed with the French club Toulon, a move that would take effect after the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Despite not being selected for the Australian World Cup squad, he could not join Toulon until mid-November, as he was still under contract with the Australian Rugby Union through the World Cup.^[3] In May 2013 he started as Toulon won the 2013 Heineken Cup Final by 16–15 against Clermont Auvergne.^[4]

International tries

Matt Giteau's international tries[5]
Try	Opposing team	City/country	Venue	Competition	Year
[1]	Romania	Brisbane, Australia	Suncorp Stadium	Rugby World Cup	2003
[2–4]	Namibia	Adelaide, Australia	Adelaide Oval	Rugby World Cup	2003
[5]	Scotland	Melbourne, Australia	Docklands Stadium	Hopetoun Cup	2004
[6–7]	Pacific Islanders	Melbourne, Australia	Docklands Stadium	Test Match	2004
[8]	Scotland	Glasgow, Scotland	Hampden Park	Hopetoun Cup	2004
[9]	Italy	Melbourne, Australia	Docklands Stadium	Test Match	2005
[10–11]	South Africa	Sydney, Australia	Stadium Australia	Mandela Challenge Plate	2005
[12–13]	South Africa	Brisbane, Australia	Suncorp Stadium	Tri Nations	2006
[14]	Wales	Cardiff, Wales	Millennium Stadium	Test Match	2006
[15]	Wales	Sydney, Australia	Stadium Australia	James Bevan Trophy	2007
[17]	South Africa	Sydney, Australia	Stadium Australia	Tri Nations	2007
[18]	Wales	Cardiff, Wales	Millennium Stadium	Rugby World Cup	2007
[19–20]	Fiji	Montpellier, France	Stade de la Mosson	Rugby World Cup	2007
[21]	France	Sydney, Australia	Stadium Australia	Trophée des Bicentenaires	2007
[22]	Italy	Canberra, Australia	Canberra Stadium	Test Match	2009
[23]	France	Sydney, Australia	Stadium Australia	Trophée des Bicentenaires	2009
[24]	South Africa	Cape Town, South Africa	Newlands Stadium	Tri Nations	2009
[25–26]	South Africa	Perth, Australia	Subiaco Oval	Tri Nations	2009
[27–28]	England	Sydney, Australia	ANZ Stadium	Test Match	2010

References

External links

• Brumbies profile
• Wallabies profile