Steven Larkham ( born Stephen Larkham , born May 29, 1974 in Canberra ) is a former Australian rugby player who played as a wandering midfielder. 2003 World Champion in the national team, two-time winner of the Super Rugby club tournament.
 Stephen Larkham | ||
 | ||
| general information | ||
| Date of Birth | May 29, 1974 (aged 45) | |
| Place of Birth | Canberra , Australia | |
| Citizenship |  Australia | |
| Growth | 189 cm | |
| Weight | 88 kg | |
| Position | Fly haw closing | |
| Club Information | ||
| Club | completed his career | |
| room | ten | |
| Career | ||
| Club career * | ||
| 1996-2007 | Brambiz | 127 (204) |
| 2008—2010 |  Rico Black Rams | |
| National team** | ||
| 1996-2007 | Australia | 102 (135) |
| Coaching career | ||
| 2014 — present | Brambiz | |
* The number of games and points for a professional club is considered for the national league, Heineken Cup and Super Rugby. ** The number of games and points for the national team in official matches. | ||
| Awards | ||
| World Championships | ||
| Gold | Wales 1999 | |
| Silver | Australia 2003 | |
Career
Stephen Larkham began his rugby career as a trailing, but later retrained as a midfielder . The main initiator of this was the Australian national team coach Rod McQueen .
In Super 12, Larkham made his debut in 1995 as part of Brambiz . In this team, the Australian spent almost his entire sports career. In 1996, in a match against the national team of Wales, he made his debut as a member of the Vollabis , having replaced him as an extreme three-quarter player.
Larkham approached the 1999 World Cup as the main team’s fly-haw, making one of the strongest midfielder pairs in the world with his Brambiz partner scrum-have George Gregan . In the fields of Wales, the Australian spent five games (having missed only the starting game with the Romanians ). In the group stage match against the US team made the only attempt for himself at the World Cup. In the semifinal match with the South Africans, it was Larkem who decided the fate of the match in favor of the Australians. In extra time, with an equal score, he scored a drop goal from a distance of 48 meters, which became decisive. This drop goal was the first in Larkem's international career. In the final, the Australians defeated the French and became world champions.
Four years later, the Australians were close to defending the league title in the home championship . Larkem was again the team’s main fly-hav, took part in six meetings, was twice marked by attempts (both times in the game against Romania). However, in the final, the Australians lost to England after the drop goal of Johnny Wilkinson in extra time and became silver medalists.
In 2007, Larkem played only one game with the Japanese at the World Championships in France, during which he injured his knee and was unable to take part in other championship games.
During his career, he won the Super 12 tournament twice as part of Brambiz (in 2001 and 2004). He finished his career in 2010 at the Japanese club “Rico Black Rams”.
After completing an active rugby career, he returned to his native club, where he took the position of assistant coach for the attack. In 2015, Larkham became the head coach of Brambiz and brought them to the Super Rugby semi-finals. In the same year he entered the coaching staff of the Australian national team.
In the home arena of Brambiz - Canberra Stadium , one of the stands in 2007 was named the Gregan-Larkham Stand in honor of two famous players of the team.
Links
- Profile on itsrugby.co.uk