Carlos Spencer

Last updated

Carlos Spencer
Carlos Spencer.jpg
Spencer in 2008
Full nameCarlos James Spencer
Date of birth (1975-10-14) 14 October 1975 (age 49)
Place of birth Levin, New Zealand [1]
Height178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight95 kg (209 lb; 14 st 13 lb)
School Waiopehu College
Occupation(s) Head Coach
Assistant Coach
Rugby union career
Position(s) First five-eighth
Senior career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1992–1993 Horowhenua-Kapiti 18 (192)
1994–2004 Auckland 89 (491)
1996–2005 Blues 99 (620)
2005–2009 Northampton Saints 70 (172)
2009–2010 Gloucester 16 (22)
2010 Lions 12 (17)
2010 Golden Lions 2 (0)
Correct as of 29 June 2020
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1994–1995 New Zealand U21 6 (44)
1994–2005 New Zealand Māori 10 (54)
1995–2004 New Zealand 44 (383)
1996–1998 New Zealand Barbarians 3 (32)
1997–1999 New Zealand A 5 (65)
2000–2006 Barbarian F.C. 4 (5)
Correct as of 29 June 2020
Coaching career
YearsTeam
2012 Lions
2013 Sharks
2014 Eastern Province Kings
2016–2018 Munakata Sanix Blues
2019–2020 Hurricanes (assistant)
2022 New Orleans Gold (assistant)
Correct as of 18 January 2022

Carlos James Spencer (born 14 October 1975) is a former New Zealand rugby union player and previously the head coach of the Eastern Province Kings and the Munakata Sanix Blues. He is currently an assistant coach for the New Orleans Gold of Major League Rugby (MLR).

Contents

During his playing days, he played at fly-half (first five-eighth) for the Blues and Lions in Super Rugby and for New Zealand internationally.

Provincial and club career

He generally specialised in the position of fly-half, also known as "first five-eighth" or "number 10", although he also played fullback (number 15) at national and international levels.

Spencer first rose to prominence when he starred alongside Christian Cullen in a Ranfurly Shield challenge in 1994, playing for the Horowhenua team against Auckland. Auckland coach Graham Henry spotted Spencer's talent and recruited him to play for the Auckland team.[ citation needed ]

He played for the Blues Super 12 team from the inception of the competition in 1996 until 2005, and for the Auckland NPC side.

In 1996, Spencer played for the Blues in the first ever Super 12-match, kicking off the professional era of rugby union. He went on to score 608 points for the Blues in the Super Rugby competition. [2]

In 2005, he signed to the English club, Northampton Saints, where he stayed until 30 January 2009.[ citation needed ] On 3 February 2009, he signed for Gloucester on a 17-month contract.[ citation needed ]

In January 2010, Spencer signed with the Johannesburg-based Golden Lions, to play for the team in the 2010 and 2011 Super Rugby seasons. The contract offered to him was said at the time to be the highest ever in South Africa. [3] He subsequently took up a coaching role with the team, before being released following the 2012 season. He moved to the Durban-based Sharks for the 2013 season.

In December 2013, he signed a five-year contract to become the kicking and specialist skills coach at Port Elizabeth-based side, the Eastern Province Kings. [4] He was appointed as their head coach on 20 February 2014. [5] He was in charge for just one Currie Cup season, 2014, where they achieved just one victory in ten matches. Brent Janse van Rensburg was appointed as head coach for the 2015 Currie Cup Premier Division season with Spencer reverting to kicking and specialist skills coach. [6] However, Spencer left the coaching staff a month later. [7]

International career

Spencer first played for the All Blacks in a non-test tour match on 4 November 1995, but did not play his first test match until 1997. His test debut was against Argentina at Athletic Park in Wellington on 21 June that year. He scored 33 points in that match alone.

His All Black appearances as a starter were somewhat irregular thereafter, as Andrew Mehrtens was generally preferred as the first-choice flyhalf for the side during the period from 1995 to 2002. He was selected for the 1999 All Blacks World Cup squad but became injured in training at London, so did not play a match in that tournament. [8] However, following an exceptional season for the Blues in Super 12, Spencer became first-choice first five-eighth for the All Blacks in 2003, and was a part of the squad for the Rugby World Cup that year.

In 2004, Carlos Spencer struggled to find the same form he had displayed the previous year, and Mehrtens replaced him for the final game of that year's Tri Nations. He was then ruled out of the final All Black tour of the year through injury. In 2005, Spencer lost form early in the Super 12 competition and then suffered a fractured cheekbone in training. He agreed to play for the New Zealand Māori (in his 10th match for that team) against the touring Lions, but made himself unavailable for the All Blacks so that he would not miss training for his new English club, Northampton Saints.

As a player, Spencer was valued for his imaginative kicking and passing game, and his ability to unlock defences. He was also a handy, if not entirely reliable, goal kicker. Only five players have scored more test points than Spencer for New Zealand — Daniel Carter 1,598, Andrew Mehrtens 967, Grant Fox 645, Beauden Barrett 465, and most recently, Aaron Cruden 322.

Boxing

On 3 December 2011, Spencer stepped into the boxing ring against Rugby league's Awen Guttenbeil in Fight for Life 2011 in Auckland, New Zealand. The fight was controversially ruled a draw despite Spencer knocking down Guttenbeil with seconds remaining on the last round. [9]

Awards and honours

In 2006, Spencer was named in the Guinness Premiership Awards Dream Team [10] and collected the Player of the Year award for the 2005–06 season at the Northampton Saints annual awards, as voted for by the club's fans. [11] He played in four matches for Bob Dwyer's World XV team in 2006, including a match for the Barbarians against England at Twickenham on 28 May and a 30–27 loss to the Springboks at Ellis Park on 3 June.

Personal life

He married Jodene Spencer. Their son Payton Spencer is an international rugby player for New Zealand Sevens. [12] His daughter, Asha is 16 as of 2024. [13]

Match Fit

Spencer made his debut for Match Fit: Union vs. League.In 2024, he made his debut with Paul Whatuira and Louis Anderson in Match Fit: Union vs. League. Whatuira also beat Spencer in a charity Fight For Life boxing match. Spencer and Pita Alatini both maxed out the metabolic age potential to -15 against their biological ages. [14] Despite this: It was revealed that both he and Louis Anderson have a family history of high blood cholesterol despite having lower metabolic age than biological age and are two of the fittest in the group. [15] At the final weigh in, however, he also gained the perfect score for percentage of visceral fat for males at 4%. [16]

Mentally: He had polarized the nation as he was one of the first ball-dominant fly halves in New Zealand, playing more like a scrum half than a first five-eighth. He was also never known as a reliable kicker, which is an expected role of a traditional first five-eighth. Due to his playstyle and his competitiveness, he shut down when things don't go well rather than risking an angry vent. He also received online and media abuse against him. [17] During the IronMaori's triathlon, he covered for Paul Miller as a biker (with Frank Bunce)and runner (with Pita Alatini). He led the Union team to beat Team League in triathlon. [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Jones (rugby union)</span> Rugby player

Sir Michael Niko Jones is a New Zealand former rugby union player and coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piri Weepu</span> Rugby player

Piri Awahou Tihou Weepu is a retired New Zealand rugby union player. Weepu played most recently for Wairarapa Bush in the Heartland Championship. Generally Weepu played as a half-back but also played at first five-eighth on occasion. He has represented the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, between 2004 and 2013. He first won national honours against Wales in 2004. In 2005 was called back into the All Blacks squad for the first Tri Nations test against South Africa, having missed selection for the 2005 British & Irish Lions tour. He represented the Hurricanes and Blues in Super Rugby, and Wellington and Auckland in the Mitre 10 Cup. He also had brief spells with several clubs in Europe. In October 2017, Weepu announced his retirement as a rugby player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clinton Toopi</span> Former NZ & Maori dual-code rugby international footballer

Clinton James Te-Whata Toopi is a New Zealand former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. A New Zealand international representative centre, he played his club football in the National Rugby League for the New Zealand Warriors and the Gold Coast Titans, and in the Super League for the Leeds Rhinos. Clinton began coaching the Helensvale Hornets in 2021 and guided them to victory in the 2022 Gold Coast A Grade Competition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Fa'afili</span> New Zealand and Samoa dual-code international rugby footballer

Henry Fa'afili is a Samoan-born New Zealand former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. He played representative rugby league (RL) for New Zealand Secondary Schools, the New Zealand Junior Kiwis, New Zealand and Samoa, and at club level for Auckland Warriors and the Warrington Wolves, as a wing, centre, stand-off, or second-row, he switched codes in 2007, and played representative rugby union (RU) for Samoa, and at club level for Biarritz Olympique, Leeds Carnegie and Connacht Rugby, as a wing, or centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Anderson</span> New Zealand international rugby league footballer

Louis Manu "Lui" Anderson is a New Zealand rugby league footballer who plays for Villegailhenc-Aragon XIII in the Elite Two Championship. A New Zealand former international representative forward, he previously played for the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League competition and for the Catalans Dragons and Warrington Wolves in the Super League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesley Vainikolo</span> NZ international rugby league & England international rugby union player

Lesley Paea 'I'muli Vainikolo is a former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer. A dual code international, he has played for the New Zealand Kiwis in rugby league and England in rugby union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Whatuira</span> New Zealand rugby league footballer

Paul Whatuira is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Parramatta Eels in the NRL in 2011. A New Zealand international centre, he won National Rugby League premierships with the Penrith Panthers and Wests Tigers and achieved success with the Huddersfield Giants in the Super League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shontayne Hape</span> England rugby union & NZ international rugby league player

Shontayne Edward Hape is a New Zealand former professional rugby footballer, a dual-code rugby international. He played rugby union at centre for Montpellier, London Irish, Bath and England. He played rugby league for the Bradford Bulls in the Super League and the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League. Hape represented New Zealand at international level rugby league by being selected for both the junior and senior squads, including the 2006 Tri-Nations New Zealand squad. His usual position is centre. He was forced to retire in 2013 after suffering several serious concussions, which left him with decreased brain function.

Troy Vandem Flavell is a former New Zealand rugby union player. Flavell won 22 caps for New Zealand, and mainly played lock. He is known for his power in the scrum. He attended Massey High School alongside Ron Cribb and both played for Massey Rugby Club.

Rico Levi Gear is a former New Zealand rugby union player. He was a specialist right wing but also covered midfield positions.

Pita Faiva-ki-moana Alatini is a former professional rugby union footballer who played as a midfield back. Although he was born in Tonga, he played in 17 tests for New Zealand between 1999 and 2001, scoring six test tries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Bunce</span> Rugby player

Frank Eneri Bunce is a retired New Zealand rugby union player and coach. He played international rugby for both Western Samoa and New Zealand in the 1990s, appearing in the 1991 and 1995 World Cups. He played in four international matches for Samoa and 55 for New Zealand.

Kees Junior Meeuws is a New Zealand former rugby union prop and former assistant coach of the Highlanders in the Super Rugby competition, and also a real estate agent by trade and a painter by education. Meeuws played 42 tests for the All Blacks between 1998 and 2004, scoring 10 test tries. He played provincial rugby for Otago and Auckland, and played for the Blues in the Super 12. In 2004, Meeuws left New Zealand to take up a contract with French club Castres Olympique, and in 2006 he left Castres for Agen after a falling-out with Castres coach Laurent Seigne. Following Agen's relegation after the 2006–07 season, Meeuws left Agen and returned to Castres, signing a two-year contract with the club. In May 2008, it was announced that Meeuws would be joining the Scarlets on a two-year deal. However, shortly into his Scarlets career, he suffered a long-term injury. In July 2009, having made just 12 appearances and scored 1 try, his contract with the Scarlets was cancelled by mutual consent. He returned to Otago in 2010 to play in the ITM Cup.

Duane Darrin Mann is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s and coached in the 2000s. A Tonga and New Zealand international representative hooker, he captained both sides. Mann played his club football for New Zealand sides Glenora, North Harbour, Auckland Warriors and Counties Manukau, as well as for English club, Warrington.

Craig Dowd born 26 October 1969 in Auckland, New Zealand, is a former rugby union player and ex-coach. He played 60 test matches for New Zealand between 1993 and 2000, spending his entire provincial career with Auckland. He spent his entire Super 12 career, 64 matches, with the Auckland Blues, between 1996 and 2001 and is the official Blues player number 001, winning back-to-back titles in 1996 and 1997. From 2001 to 2005 he played for London Wasps in the Guinness Premiership, amassing 115 caps with the club. He started as Wasps won the 2002–03 Premiership Final, and two years later was a replacement when they won it again. Following his retirement as a player he took on a coaching role with the club. In 2009 he took up a position as the Head coach for North Harbour in the Air New Zealand Cup. Formed one of the greatest frontrow combinations with Sean Fitzpatrick and Olo Brown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tawera Nikau</span> Former NZ & NZ Māori international rugby league footballer

Tawera Nuieia Nikau is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. A New Zealand international representative forward, he played club football at a number of different clubs in New Zealand, England and Australia during his career, including the Melbourne Storm's victory in the 1999 NRL season Grand Final.

Eroni Clarke is a New Zealand rugby union international who played for Auckland, the Blues and the Highlanders. Clarke made 155 appearances for Auckland, making him the fifth most capped player in the union's history. He also scored 73 tries for Auckland, the fourth most in the union's history. Clarke also made 48 appearances for the Auckland Blues at Super 12 level and made fourteen total appearances for New Zealand, making his international debut in 1992.

Charles Riechelmann is a former professional rugby union player who played as a lock. He played for Auckland provincially and the Blues in the Super Rugby competition. He was part of the Blues' title-winning teams in 1996 and 1997. Although he was born in Nukuʻalofa, Tonga, he played for New Zealand at international level, making him the first Tongan-born All Black. He played six test matches for New Zealand in 1997, scoring three tries.

Hadleigh William Parkes is a New Zealand-born Welsh international rugby union player, whose favoured position is at the centre. He currently plays for the Black Rams Tokyo in the Japan Rugby League One. Parkes also has a successful BBC sport rugby union column.

Ofisa Francis Junior Tonu'u is a New Zealand former rugby union player and Samoa cricketer.

References

  1. ↑ Hyslop, Liam (1 February 2019). "Carlos Spencer's roundabout rugby journey comes back to where it all began: Levin". Stuff.
  2. ↑ "All Time Super Rugby Records". Sports Digital Media. 20 February 2008. Archived from the original on 7 April 2009.
  3. ↑ "Ex All Black Spencer joins the Lions". SuperSport. 6 January 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  4. ↑ "Kings capture 'King Carlos'". Media24. Sport24. 10 December 2013. Archived from the original on 22 January 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  5. ↑ "Carlos Spencer announced as EP Kings Currie Cup head coach for 2014". Rugby15. 20 February 2014. Archived from the original on 26 February 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  6. ↑ "Kings name coach for Currie Cup". Sport24. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  7. ↑ Glover, Tim (14 November 2003). "Rugby World Cup 2003: Spencer steps off roller-coaster on to front". The Independent (London). Retrieved 25 March 2008.[ dead link ]
  8. ↑ "Fighter Bios". Fight for Life. Duco Ltd. Archived from the original on 14 January 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  9. ↑ "Catt scoops top Premiership award". Planet-Rugby.com. 25 May 2006. Archived from the original on 31 January 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2006.
  10. ↑ "Northampton Saints: Carlos Spencer". northamptonsaints.co.uk. 18 November 2007. Archived from the original on 18 October 2007. Retrieved 23 June 2006.
  11. ↑ Morton, Finn (29 January 2023). "Rising star Payton Spencer sets sights on Olympics after 'special' final". Rugby Pass. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  12. ↑ "Match Fit Season 4 Ep 3 | SPORT | ThreeNow". www.threenow.co.nz. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  13. ↑ "Match Fit Season 4 Ep 1 | SPORT | ThreeNow". www.threenow.co.nz. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  14. ↑ "Match Fit Season 4 Ep 2 | SPORT | ThreeNow". www.threenow.co.nz. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  15. ↑ "Match Fit Season 4 Ep 6 | SPORT | ThreeNow". www.threenow.co.nz. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  16. ↑ "Match Fit Season 4 Ep 3 | SPORT | ThreeNow". www.threenow.co.nz. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  17. ↑ "Match Fit Season 4 Ep 4 | SPORT | ThreeNow". www.threenow.co.nz. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
Awards
Preceded by Tom French Memorial
Māori rugby union player of the year
2002, 2003		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.