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.jpg) Giteau with theSuntory Sungoliath in 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Matthew James Giteau (1982-09-29)29 September 1982 (age 43) Sydney,New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 85 kg (13 st 5 lb; 187 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | St Edmund's College, Canberra | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relatives |
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| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Matthew James Giteau (born 29 September 1982)[1] is an Australianrugby union professional player who plays for theSan Diego Legion ofMajor League Rugby (MLR).
Giteau plays as autility 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 againstEngland atTwickenham and was a nominee for theInternational Rugby Board Player of the Year in 2004.[1] He appeared in 104Super Rugby matches. During his career he won 103test caps forAustralia. He was re-selected to the national team after several years' absence under a rule known asGiteau's law.
Giteau attendedSt Edmund's College, Canberra,[1] which has produced other Wallabies includingGeorge Gregan,Matt Henjak andRicky Stuart.
His father,Ron Giteau, is a former professionalrugby league footballer, and his older sisterKristy Giteau is a dual-code rugby international for Australia. On 11 December 2010, Matt Giteau marriedBianca Franklin, a former netball player with theAdelaide Thunderbirds.[2] They have three children: Levi, Kai, and Winter.[3]
Giteau made his debut for theACT Brumbies in 2001 and the Wallabies in 2002. During this time he won twoSuper Rugby titles with the Brumbies in the2001 Super 12 season and the2004 Super 12 season and was a part of the Wallabies at the2003 Rugby World Cup.
In April 2006 Giteau announced that he would play for theWestern ForceSuper Rugby team, in the2007 Super 14 season. He was included in the Wallabies2006 mid-year rugby tests squad, but was ruled out with an injury. However, he recovered in time for the2006 Tri Nations Series. He came off the bench in the first game in the series.
In 2007, Giteau was selected for the Wallabies2007 Rugby World Cup and 2008 squad and was first choiceNo. 12. He had also scored 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 the Rugby World Cup, Giteau played fly-half for theBarbarians against Rugby World Cup winnersSouth Africa. Giteau scored atry, and the Barbarians won 22–5.
In 2008, new Wallabies coachRobbie Deans selected Giteau as Australia's new fly-half, following the retirement ofStephen Larkham.
Giteau played fly-half againstIreland andFrance in the mid-year Test. In the2008 Tri Nations Series, Giteau played in all six games. He played against theAll Blacks winning 34–22 at theANZ Stadium in Sydney, and againstSouth Africa winning 27–15 atKings Park Stadium inDurban.[citation needed]
Giteau was also a part of the Wallabies' record loss that following week to South Africa 53–8.
Giteau played for theWestern Force for 2007–09. In2007 the Force finished seventh, and recorded their first home win (17–18 against theHurricanes).
In 2010 Giteau returned toCanberra and the Brumbies, where he played for2010 and2011.
During the2011 Super Rugby season, Giteau signed with the French clubToulon, a move that would take effect after the2011 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 theAustralian Rugby Union through the World Cup.[4] In May 2013 he started asToulon won the2013 Heineken Cup Final by 16–15 againstClermont Auvergne. He won three European titles with Toulon starting all three. In 2015 they won three successive European titles, (2013 vs Clermont 16–15, 2014 vs Saracens 23–6, and 2015 vs Clermont 24–18). He also won the Top 14 in 2014.[5]
In 2015, national coachMichael Cheika negotiated with theAustralian Rugby Union to allow players with 60 caps or more eligible to represent theWallabies despite not playing in theSuper Rugby known asGiteau's law. Giteau played against theSpringboks winning 24–20 atSuncorp Stadium, and against theAll Blacks 27–19 atANZ Stadium. Giteau was selected in theWallabies 31-man squad for the2015 Rugby World Cup. In October, during the tournament, Giteau scored his 30th international try for theWallabies as part of their win againstEngland, knocking them out of the tournament. Giteau was a key player for the Wallabies in reaching theRugby World Cup final, but he copped a head knock in the opening stages of the final and was ruled out of the remainder of the match, which the Wallabies lost to theAll Blacks 17–34.[6]
In March 2017, Giteau announced that he would spend his last season with Toulon as a player-coach. On 15 May 2017, Giteau confirmed his move to Japan withSuntory Sungoliath in theTop League next season.[7]
In March 2021 Giteau joined his former Australia teammate,Adam Ashley-Cooper at theLA Giltinis for the2021 Major League Rugby season.[8]
In August 2021, Giteau played his last professional game of rugby union after a man of the match performance in the Giltini's MLR shield win against Rugby ATL.[9] Giteau was named in the MLR team of the season with 98 points scored in 13 matches played. Giteau returned to the Giltinis in 2022.[10]
In late 2023, on his podcast, Kick Offs and Kick Ons, Giteau announced that he would come out of retirement to join the San Diego Legion for the 2024 MLR season.[11]