Nathan Spooner

Nathan Raymond Spooner is a retired rugby union player, who represented Australia. He typically played in the out-half (or fly-half) position.

Nathan Spooner

Birth name	Nathan Raymond Spooner[1]
Date of birth	(1975-11-07) 7 November 1975 (age 49)
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	88 kg (13 st 12 lb)
Occupation(s)	Rugby player
Rugby union career
Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2001–2003 Leinster 10+ (68+) Super Rugby Years Team Apps (Points) 1997-2001 NSW Waratahs, Queensland Reds 15+ (208+)

Career

Clubs and provinces

• -2001 : Queensland Reds, Australia
• 2001-2003 : Leinster, Ireland
• 2003 : Sharks, South Africa
• 2004-7 Mie Honda Heat, Japan

National team

He played under-age representative rugby, before making his debut for Australia on 12 June 1999 against Ireland in Brisbane, scoring 17 points. His final test match was against the same team on 19 June 1999.^[2]

Club Rugby

He played for Queensland Reds. In 1998, he was largely sidelined by a shoulder injury, but in 1999 he was out-half for a side that reached the Super12 semi-finals, scoring 131 points. The following year, he was again largely unable to play, due to surgery, playing only 4 games early in 2001.^{[3] [4]}

He was then signed for Leinster Rugby for the 2001-2 season, playing in Leinster's victory in the 2001–02 Celtic League final (in which he scored 14 points)^[5] and in Leinster's Heineken Cup quarter-final defeat at the hands of Leicester Tigers. He remained with Leinster for the following season , in spite of sustaining a further severe shoulder injury in April 2002.^[6] After the signing of Felipe Contepomi was announced towards the end of the 2002-3 season, Spooner was not offered a new contract.^[7] After leaving Leinster, Spooner went to the Natal Sharks in September 2003.^[8] Following a season with the Sharks, Spooner went to play in Japan with Mie Honda Heat until 2007 when he retired, going on to work in sales.^[9]

International honours

• Test matches for Australia : 2

References

1. "Nathan Spooner". It's Rugby. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
2. "Nathan Raymond Spooner". Classic Wallabies. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
3. "Reds Spooner on comeback trail". Irish Times. 3 April 2000. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
4. "Spooner gets straight to heart of things". Irish Times. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
5. Plummer, David (17 December 2001). "Leinster kings of the Celts". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
6. "Spooner's injury not career threatening". Irish Times. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
7. "Spooner left with few options". Irish Times. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
8. "Spooner snapped up by Sharks". Irish Examiner. 2 September 2003. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
9. "Ex-Wallaby ready for charity match". IThe Courier Mail. Retrieved 19 July 2023.