Craig Gower
Encyclopedia
Craig Gower is an Australian-Italian professional rugby football
er. He is a dual-code rugby international, having played rugby league
for Australia, and rugby union
for Italy
. He currently plays rugby union
for French Top 14 side Bayonne
but has agreed to return to play rugby league with Harlequins RL for the 2012 season.
He is eligible to play international rugby union
for Italy
due to an Italian grandfather, and made his debut against Australia
in Canberra on 13 June 2009 in the first Test of Italy's tour to Australia and New Zealand.
He previously played rugby league for the Penrith Panthers
in the National Rugby League
, and captained the team to premiership victory in the 2003 NRL season. He represented New South Wales and Australia in rugby league
, captaining Australia in 2005.
On August 10 2011 it was confirmed that Gower would be returning to Rugby League playing with the English Super League Harlequins for 2 seasons.
side for the ANZAC Test
against New Zealand
in 1997. He appeared in both Super League Tests against New Zealand and made the end of year Super League tour to Great Britain, playing in all three Tests
in England at halfback.
Following the re-unification of Australian rugby league, Gower played for Australia in 1999. He was selected for the ANZAC Test
that year but was dismissed following a disciplinary incident. However he was back in the side by year's end for his first ARL
Test in the Tri-Series in New Zealand. He debuted for New South Wales
in the 2001 State of Origin series, and made five appearances until 2006.
Gower was the captain of the Panthers between 2002 and 2005, the highlight of which was the victory over the Sydney Roosters
in the 2003 NRL grand final
. After that he was selected to go on the 2003 Kangaroo tour
.
Gower was named Australia's captain for the Test match
against France on the 2005 Tri-Nations
tour. Gower is the second Penrith Panthers player to captain his country, after Brad Fittler
in 1995.
Gower ended the 2007 regular season with 238 career matches for the Penrith Panthers, four games short of the club record of 242 held by Steve Carter. On 22 February 2007, Gower was appointed co-captain for 2007 along with fellow players Tony Puletua
and Luke Priddis
.
He was a regular selection for Australia between 1999 and 2008, making eighteen test appearances. His later appearances were at half-back although earlier in his career he played at hooker.
. Gower still had two years to run on his contract at Penrith
.
in 2008. He qualifies for the Azzurri due to an Italian grandfather. On 13 June 2009, Gower made his first appearance for Italy at fly half against Australia
after being selected for the mid-season tour of Australia and New Zealand. Italy coach Nick Mallett
had initial reservations about selecting Gower after reading about his past alcohol-related misdemeanours in Gower's Wikipedia
article.
side Harlequins RL for the 2012 season. As a result, he did not feature in Italy's 2011 Rugby World Cup
campaign, and was instead selected in the Italy
rugby league squad for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup qualifying
tournament.
In 1999, Gower exposed himself to a female Irish tourist in a Coogee
bar, blaming his behaviour on alcohol intoxication. He was dumped from the Kangaroos squad and fined $2,500 by the NRL and a further $500 in court after pleading guilty to indecent exposure.
Gower was fired as Panthers captain in December 2005, after incidents at a charity golf event where he argued with several guests, groped
the teenage daughter of former league player Wayne Pearce
, chased Pearce's son with a bottle before vomiting on him, streaked nude around the resort, stole and crashed a golf cart, held a butter knife to the throat of a Sydney radio personality before throwing it at resort guests, and engaged in a brawl with resort security before being ejected from the official function and detained by police. Gower was handed a "final warning" by the National Rugby League and fined $100,000, with $90,000 to be paid to an NRL programme encouraging the responsible use of alcohol by league players and $10,000 to replace the destroyed golf cart. Gower was "deeply unhappy" that the Penrith Panthers club did not defend his reputation, and at one stage threatened to "walk" from the club.
Allegedly inebriated with alcohol in a bar at Kings Cross
on 11 February 2007, Gower allegedly tried to kiss one man before biting him on the neck and sparking a brawl, and is accused of assaulting another man. The Panthers club controversially reappointed Gower as captain in 2007, claiming the Peppermint Lounge incident was just a media "beat-up".
Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser
said Gower was unfit to be captain, due to his alleged lewd behaviour at the charity golf event which she attended, and Sarah Maddison
, spokesperson for the Women's Electoral Lobby, said "reappointing Craig Gower would send all the wrong messages."
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
er. He is a dual-code rugby international, having played rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
for Australia, and rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
for Italy
Italy national rugby union team
The Italy national rugby union team represent the nation of Italy in the sport of rugby union. The team is also known as the Azzurri . Italy have been playing international rugby since the late 1920s, and since 2000 compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland,...
. He currently plays rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
for French Top 14 side Bayonne
Aviron Bayonnais
Aviron Bayonnais is a French rugby union club from Bayonne in Pyrénées-Atlantiques that currently competes in the top level of the French league system, in the Top 14 competition...
but has agreed to return to play rugby league with Harlequins RL for the 2012 season.
He is eligible to play international rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
for Italy
Italy national rugby union team
The Italy national rugby union team represent the nation of Italy in the sport of rugby union. The team is also known as the Azzurri . Italy have been playing international rugby since the late 1920s, and since 2000 compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland,...
due to an Italian grandfather, and made his debut against Australia
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
in Canberra on 13 June 2009 in the first Test of Italy's tour to Australia and New Zealand.
He previously played rugby league for the Penrith Panthers
Penrith Panthers
The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, the top rugby league football competition in Australasia. For the 2012 NRL season they will be coached by Ivan...
in the National Rugby League
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
, and captained the team to premiership victory in the 2003 NRL season. He represented New South Wales and Australia in rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
, captaining Australia in 2005.
On August 10 2011 it was confirmed that Gower would be returning to Rugby League playing with the English Super League Harlequins for 2 seasons.
Rugby league career
Gower's junior club was the Colyton-Mt Druitt Colts. He made his representative debut in his second season at the top grade when still aged only eighteen. He was selected in the Australian Super LeagueSuper League (Australia)
Super League was an Australian rugby league football administrative body that conducted professional competition in Australasia for one season in 1997. Along with Super League of Europe, it was created by News Corporation during the Super League war which arose following an unsuccessful attempt to...
side for the ANZAC Test
ANZAC Test
The Anzac Test is an annual rugby league football test match . The test match is played annually between Australia and New Zealand on or around Anzac Day for the Bill Kelly Memorial Trophy.-Origins:Australia and New Zealand had competed in Rugby League Tests since 1908...
against New Zealand
New Zealand national rugby league team
The New Zealand national rugby league team has represented New Zealand in rugby league football since intercontinental competition began for the sport in 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of that name...
in 1997. He appeared in both Super League Tests against New Zealand and made the end of year Super League tour to Great Britain, playing in all three Tests
Super League Test series
The Super League Test series was a three-Test match series between the Great Britain national rugby league team and Super League's Australian national team held during November 1997 in England...
in England at halfback.
Following the re-unification of Australian rugby league, Gower played for Australia in 1999. He was selected for the ANZAC Test
ANZAC Test
The Anzac Test is an annual rugby league football test match . The test match is played annually between Australia and New Zealand on or around Anzac Day for the Bill Kelly Memorial Trophy.-Origins:Australia and New Zealand had competed in Rugby League Tests since 1908...
that year but was dismissed following a disciplinary incident. However he was back in the side by year's end for his first ARL
Australian Rugby League
The Australian Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in Australia. It is made up of state bodies, including the New South Wales Rugby League and the Queensland Rugby League...
Test in the Tri-Series in New Zealand. He debuted for New South Wales
New South Wales rugby league team
The New South Wales rugby league team has represented the Australian state of New South Wales in rugby league football since the sport's beginnings there in 1907. Administered by the New South Wales Rugby League, the team competes in the annual State of Origin series against arch-rivals, the...
in the 2001 State of Origin series, and made five appearances until 2006.
Gower was the captain of the Panthers between 2002 and 2005, the highlight of which was the victory over the Sydney Roosters
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...
in the 2003 NRL grand final
2003 NRL grand final
The 2003 NRL grand final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding match of the 2003 NRL season. In what was a contest of Sydney's east versus west, defending premiers and match favourites, the Sydney Roosters played against minor premiers and underdogs, the Penrith Panthers...
. After that he was selected to go on the 2003 Kangaroo tour
2003 Kangaroo Tour
The 2003 Kangaroo Tour was a six-match tour by the Australia national rugby league team of France, Wales and England. The last three matches were all Tests against Great Britain...
.
Gower was named Australia's captain for the Test match
Test match (rugby league)
A Test match in rugby league football is a representative match between teams representing members of the Rugby League International Federation.The definition of a Test match differs from that of an international match...
against France on the 2005 Tri-Nations
Rugby League Tri-Nations
The Rugby League Tri-Nations was a rugby league tournament involving the top three nations in the sport: Australia, Great Britain and New Zealand...
tour. Gower is the second Penrith Panthers player to captain his country, after Brad Fittler
Brad Fittler
Bradley Scott "Freddie" Fittler AM is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and former player. The current coach of NSW City team in the City vs. Country clash, he coached in the NRL for the Sydney Roosters between 2007 and 2009. As a player, Fittler captained both New South Wales...
in 1995.
Gower ended the 2007 regular season with 238 career matches for the Penrith Panthers, four games short of the club record of 242 held by Steve Carter. On 22 February 2007, Gower was appointed co-captain for 2007 along with fellow players Tony Puletua
Tony Puletua
Anthony Puletua is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer for St. Helens in the European Super League. A New Zealand and Samoan international, Puletua previously played for the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League competition...
and Luke Priddis
Luke Priddis
Luke Priddis is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s...
.
He was a regular selection for Australia between 1999 and 2008, making eighteen test appearances. His later appearances were at half-back although earlier in his career he played at hooker.
French club rugby
On 26 June 2007, Gower was reported to have switched codes and joined French Top 14 rugby union side BayonneAviron Bayonnais
Aviron Bayonnais is a French rugby union club from Bayonne in Pyrénées-Atlantiques that currently competes in the top level of the French league system, in the Top 14 competition...
. Gower still had two years to run on his contract at Penrith
Penrith Panthers
The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, the top rugby league football competition in Australasia. For the 2012 NRL season they will be coached by Ivan...
.
Representative
Gower expressed his desire to play rugby union for ItalyItaly national rugby union team
The Italy national rugby union team represent the nation of Italy in the sport of rugby union. The team is also known as the Azzurri . Italy have been playing international rugby since the late 1920s, and since 2000 compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland,...
in 2008. He qualifies for the Azzurri due to an Italian grandfather. On 13 June 2009, Gower made his first appearance for Italy at fly half against Australia
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
after being selected for the mid-season tour of Australia and New Zealand. Italy coach Nick Mallett
Nick Mallett
Nicholas Vivian Howard Mallett is a former South African rugby union player who was until recently the head coach of the Italian national team, previously replacing Pierre Berbizier on 3 October 2007...
had initial reservations about selecting Gower after reading about his past alcohol-related misdemeanours in Gower's Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
article.
Return to rugby league
Following the expiry of his union contract, Gower agreed a deal to return to rugby league with Super LeagueSuper League
Super League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from...
side Harlequins RL for the 2012 season. As a result, he did not feature in Italy's 2011 Rugby World Cup
2011 Rugby World Cup
The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa at a meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005...
campaign, and was instead selected in the Italy
Italy national rugby league team
The Italy national rugby league team represents Italy in international rugby league football. The team dates back from the 1950s after the formation of a domestic competition in the country, and in the 1960s they played Australia, France and a number of English teams.The game disappeared in Italy...
rugby league squad for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup qualifying
2013 Rugby League World Cup qualifying
Of the fourteen teams that will participate in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, only two are not automatic inclusions, so must win qualifying matches to enter the tournament, which is to be held in Wales and England...
tournament.
Controversy
Gower has been involved in a number of alcohol-related off-field incidents.In 1999, Gower exposed himself to a female Irish tourist in a Coogee
Coogee, New South Wales
Coogee is a beachside suburb of local government area City of Randwick. It is located 8 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is also a part of the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney....
bar, blaming his behaviour on alcohol intoxication. He was dumped from the Kangaroos squad and fined $2,500 by the NRL and a further $500 in court after pleading guilty to indecent exposure.
Gower was fired as Panthers captain in December 2005, after incidents at a charity golf event where he argued with several guests, groped
Groping
When used in a sexual context, groping is touching or fondling another person in a sexual way using the hands; it generally has a negative connotation, and is considered molestation in most societies. The term 'frotteurism' may be applied when a person rubs up against another person, typically...
the teenage daughter of former league player Wayne Pearce
Wayne Pearce
Wayne John Pearce OAM is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. An athletic Lock Forward for the Balmain Tigers, he was affectionately known as 'Junior'...
, chased Pearce's son with a bottle before vomiting on him, streaked nude around the resort, stole and crashed a golf cart, held a butter knife to the throat of a Sydney radio personality before throwing it at resort guests, and engaged in a brawl with resort security before being ejected from the official function and detained by police. Gower was handed a "final warning" by the National Rugby League and fined $100,000, with $90,000 to be paid to an NRL programme encouraging the responsible use of alcohol by league players and $10,000 to replace the destroyed golf cart. Gower was "deeply unhappy" that the Penrith Panthers club did not defend his reputation, and at one stage threatened to "walk" from the club.
Allegedly inebriated with alcohol in a bar at Kings Cross
Kings Cross, New South Wales
Kings Cross is an inner-city locality of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately 2 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Sydney...
on 11 February 2007, Gower allegedly tried to kiss one man before biting him on the neck and sparking a brawl, and is accused of assaulting another man. The Panthers club controversially reappointed Gower as captain in 2007, claiming the Peppermint Lounge incident was just a media "beat-up".
Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser
Dawn Fraser
Dawn Fraser AO, MBE is an Australian champion swimmer. She is one of only two swimmers to win the same Olympic event three times – in her case the 100 meters freestyle....
said Gower was unfit to be captain, due to his alleged lewd behaviour at the charity golf event which she attended, and Sarah Maddison
Sarah Maddison
Sarah Maddison is an Australian author and Australian Research Council Future Fellow in the Faculty of Arts and Social Science at University of New South Wales....
, spokesperson for the Women's Electoral Lobby, said "reappointing Craig Gower would send all the wrong messages."