If you were watching when JPR Williams was buccaneering his way around in the
1970s, you too may appreciate some of the pain associated with admitting
that Chris Latham, the Wallaby, is the finest full-back I have seen play
rugby. His is not even a showy excellence. Latham is largely a manufactured
player, not a natural genius; nor has he the carriage or the temperament of
the showman. His greatness lies largely in his incredible ability to perform
the basics of the sport to an elevated level.
But he will be compelling viewing today when he makes his debut for Worcester
Warriors at Northamp-ton in a match of which the significance cannot be
overstated. We can look for the power of his running, the sheer breadth of
his footballing range, his presence, tactical nous, and also his timing.
“When we played Ulster last week [in a friendly] he made one break when his
timing of the run was absolutely incredible,” says Mike Ruddock, the
Worcester director of rugby.
Look for the length and also the deftness of his kicking game, perhaps even
the trademark chip-and-chase, beautifully executed, through which he has
scored so many striking tries for Queensland and Australia. His 78 caps
brought him an incredible 40 tries and only the sublime David Campese scored
more for Australia.
His last three years as a Wallaby have seen him at his peak. In 2006 he was
voted player of the Super 14. He was brilliant against Wales in the 2007
World Cup pool match at Cardiff, with a brace of tries.
His earlier career was oddly mixed, and not simply because he had injury
setbacks. He rose rapidly through the ranks after coming to rugby in his
late teens. He first played for Australia in 1998, lost out to Matt Burke
for a place in the 1999 World Cup final in Cardiff, and bizarrely, to Mat
Rogers for the 2003 final. It is impossible to believe he would not have
done better with the final relieving kick for Australia delivered by Rogers
that made only short yardage, which left England one attack away from a drop
of history by Jonny Wilkinson.
He attributes his renaissance to the confidence evoked in him by his own
relentless search for improvement, an almost Wilkinson-like dedication to
the hours of kicking practice in which the influence of Australian Rules
football in his end-over-end kicking, and brilliant fielding of the high
ball, has been obvious. “It’s not as if I have ever done formal AFL
training, it’s just that being so close to it means that it influences you.”
And also to the influence of Scott Johnson, the controversial former
Australia backs coach, former Wales coach and now coach of the USA, the man
who set him free to play; and in a squaring of the circle, the man reckoned,
shall we say, not to have taken Ruddock’s part with enthusiasm when Ruddock
was removed as Wales national coach.
His most recent encounter with the English was as part of a brilliant
Australia back-line that hung around on a shocking afternoon in Marseilles
as their forwards were smashed to bits by Andrew Sheridan and company in
last year’s World Cup quarter-final. It must have been bitterly frustrating.
I asked him if he agreed that Australian rugby had had the balance wrong,
had neglected their tight forwards for too long. Diplomacy won through in
him. Well, he could hardly say that his own front row were cringingly
dreadful. “It was frustrating, of course it was. It was a day on which we
played about as badly as we could,” he said.
He has no regrets. “You can ask me what was my highlight with Australia, but
now that it’s over, I can tell you it was every time I pulled on that
jersey. It is because I feel like that, that I don’t have regrets, that I
came here to play.”
Last week it seemed that we were being introduced in sport to the concept of
the mere millionaire. The representatives of the royal family of Abu Dhabi
paid more than £32m to bring Robinho to a club they suddenly owned.
While it doesn’t do to demean the inherent size and wonder of football, I
still found it wonderfully comforting to be at Sixways, the home of the
Warriors, last week. The place looked splendid. The new stand soared, the
pitch looked far too good to spoil by staging a match on it.
Not so long ago, they were a park-pitch team. Now they are one of the most
fervent clubs in the division. They recently concreted over their back
pitches to provide a park-and-r i d e s c h e m e f o r t h e c i t y o f
Worcester, but Cecil Duckworth, their long-time owner, a sportsman, not from
Abu Dhabi, has built some new pitches across the road so the club’s amateur
section and ladies and colts teams can continue to operate alongside the professional giant and all be Warriors together.
Now we can begin to assess their own major overseas capture, but Ruddock and
company hardly need more evidence. “He’s been absolutely incredible
already,” says Ruddock. “On the day he arrived in England he came straight
from the airport to a sponsors’ reception. He told me at the very start that
he wanted to be involved in everything, he wanted to mentor the youngsters.
He is very influential in training. I just can’t say enough about him so far."
Clearly, Latham’s lucrative two-year contract, with an option on a third, is
attractive for a player who will be 33 this week. His arrival will irk those
so bereft of spirit that they complain about any overseas signing, let alone
one w h o i s g o i n g t o improve English rugby and young English players
and be worth w a t c h i n g weekly. His focus is beady. I asked him what
research he had done on Worcester, their history, sudden rise and their
balance sheet, as he made up his mind. “None. I didn’t research that. I
didn’t know where they came from, only where they want to head. I didn’t
need anything except Mike’s call about what’s happening here, where I fitted
in. It sounded exciting.”
There is a phlegmatic air about him. Worcester is a smashing city, but its
climate, and outer face, are not reminiscent of Queensland, where this
strapping man from the New South Wales hinterland played his Super Rugby. I
presumed he and his young family would miss the wide spaces and hate the
weather.
“Not at all. I am here to savour the experience of rugby and to achieve the
goals of the team and myself. The only time you worry about the weather is
on match day when you have to adapt to it. Don’t forget in Queensland we had
problems too, with the extreme heat. That can be even tougher. And there is
the cultural element, which is equally important. We will get to know the
area around, then take advantage of the short distances to Paris and Rome.”
He has yet to form a view on the profound differences between the Premiership,
allegedly a street-fight with strong arms, and the Super 14, seen as a
sweeping load of nothing much. “It would be arrogant if you said that you
never listened to other people’s opinions, but I have no expectation about
the Premiership. I will form my own opinions about it when I have played in
it. Ask me in eight months.”
It is possible that on the subject of Latham as a new giant of the
Premiership, our verdict will not take so long to be delivered.
Stephen Jones’s top 10 full-backs
1. CHRIS LATHAM (AUSTRALIA)Of all the full-backs I’ve seen in the
flesh, he has the most in his armoury, with an allround efficiency bordering
on the ruthless
2. JUAN-MARTIN HERNANDEZ (ARGENTINA)Has been called the Maradona of
rugby. Now moving towards fly-half but he is a magician anywhere on the
field
3. JPR WILLIAMS (WALES)Typified the courage and self-confidence of
rugby at London Welsh, Wales and the Lions. The first great
counter-attacking full-back
4. CHRISTIAN CULLEN (NEW ZEALAND)Arguably the greatest attacking
full-back of all time. A shame that he was past his best when he signed for
Munster
5. SERGE BLANCO (FRANCE)One of the most celebrated Frenchmen in any
sporting field. His brilliance as a try-scorer alone was priceless 6.
ANDY IRVINE (SCOTLAND)Could not quite supplant the great JPR in Lions
teams, but he was compelling to watch, a hero of Scotland and beloved to
this day
7. GAVIN HASTINGS (SCOTLAND)Just one yard of pace short of being a
truly deadly attacker, but in his allround game almost as accomplished as
Latham
8. MATT BURKE (AUSTRALIA)A reliable kicker and an ebullient attacker
who for some time was good enough to keep Latham out of the Australia team
9. JOHN GALLAGHER (NEW ZEALAND)Almost as brilliant a runner as Cullen
was in a later era. Accordingly, the Londoner became a magical Kiwi
10. GWYN EVANS (WALES)Curiously underrated but a man of deft talents.
A Lion in 1983, only the lack of a true goalkicking game robs him of higher
accolades
