Craig Gower (born 29 April 1978) is an Italian-Australian former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

and

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. He is a

dual-code rugby international A dual-code rugby international is a rugby footballer who has played at the senior international level in both codes of rugby, 13-a-side rugby league and 15-a-side rugby union. Rugby league started as a breakaway version of rugby in Northern Eng ...

, having played

for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

for

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. A

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

State of Origin A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Ov ...

and Australian Kangaroos representative or , he played in the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

for Sydney club the

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the NRL. The team is based west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penrith ...

(whom he captained to victory in the

2003 NRL Premiership The 2003 NRL premiership was the 96th season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the sixth run by the National Rugby League. Fifteen teams competed, with the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles returning in place of their failed joint ...

). Gower then switched rugby union, playing for French

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

side

Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine re ...

, and through grandparentage represented Italy. He returned to rugby league with the London Broncos in the

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

and then finished his playing career with one more

season at the

Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, th ...

Background

Gower was born in

Penrith, New South Wales Penrith is a city in New South Wales, Australia, located in Greater Western Sydney, 55 kilometres (31 mi) west of the Sydney central business district on the banks of the Nepean River, on the outskirts of the Cumberland Plain. Its elevati ...

, Australia. He is of Italian descent. Gower was educated at MacCarthy Catholic College, Emu Plains. He played his junior football for the Colyton Colts and Emu Plains JRLFC before being signed by the

Rugby league career

In Round 11 of the

1996 ARL season The 1996 ARL premiership (also known as the 1996 Optus Cup due to sponsorship from Optus) was the 89th season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the second to be administered by the Australian Rugby League (ARL). Twenty team ...

Gower made his

ARL ARL may refer to: Military * US Navy hull classification symbol for repair ship * Admiralty Research Laboratory, UK * United States Army Research Laboratory * ARL 44, a WWII French tank Organizations * Aero Research Limited, a UK adhesives comp ...

début for the Panthers against the

Gold Coast Chargers The Gold Coast Chargers were a professional rugby league club which played in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership from New South Wales Rugby League season 1988, 1988 to New South Wales Rugby League season 1994, 1994, the Australian Ru ...

. Gower made his representative début in his second season in first-grade when still aged only eighteen. He was selected in the Australian

side for the ANZAC Test against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

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 debuted for

in the 1999 State of Origin series. He was selected for the ANZAC Test that year but was dismissed following a disciplinary incident. However he was selected for the Australian team to compete in the end of season

1999 Rugby League Tri-Nations The 1999 Rugby League Tri-Nations series was contested by Australia, Great Britain and New Zealand in 1999. It was the first multi-national rugby league tournament to feature the sport's three world powers since the 1989–92 World Cup (the 19 ...

tournament. In the final against

he played at in the Kangaroos' 22–20 victory. In 2000, Gower won the Hooker of the Year award at the 2000

Dally M Awards The Dally M Awards are the official annual player awards for the National Rugby League competition. As well as honouring the player of the year, who received the Dally M Medal, awards are also given to the premier player in each position, the b ...

. In 2002, Gower debuted for the

City Origin The Sydney Rugby League team, known as the City Rugby League team, or Combined Sydney, or Sydney Firsts, or Sydney Capitals, is a representative rugby league team. From 2021, the men's team is to consist of players selected from the New South Wa ...

team in the annual

City vs Country Origin City vs Country Origin was an annual Australian rugby league football match that took place in New South Wales between City and Country representative sides. The City side represented the Sydney metropolitan area. While technically it was Sydne ...

clash. Between 2002 and 2005, Gower captained the Panthers, the highlight of which was the 2003 NRL Grand Final victory over the

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won ...

. After that Gower was selected to go on the 2003 Kangaroo tour. As 2003 NRL premiers, the Panthers travelled to England to face

Super League VIII Tetley's Super League VIII was the official name for the year 2003's Super League championship season, the 109th season of top-level professional rugby league held in Britain, and the eighth championship run by Super League. The season culminat ...

champions, the

Bradford Bulls The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is predom ...

in the

2004 World Club Challenge The 2004 World Club Challenge was held on Friday, 13 February 2004, at the Alfred McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield, England. The game was contested by Bradford Bulls and the Penrith Panthers. Background Bradford Bulls Penrith Panthers Match ...

. Gower captained the Panthers at half back in their 22–4 loss. Gower was named Australia's captain for the

Test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

against France on the 2005 Tri-Nations tour. Gower became the second

player to captain his country, after

Brad Fittler Bradley Scott Fittler (born 5 February 1972), also known by the nickname of "Freddy", is the head coach of the New South Wales State of Origin team, a commentator and a television presenter. Fittler has previously coached the Sydney Roosters in ...

in 1995. In 2006, Gower married

cheerleader Amanda Flynn. In 2007, Gower's last year at the Panthers, he ended the season with 238 career matches for the Panthers, four games short of the club record of 242 held by Steve Carter.

Rugby union career

On 26 June 2007, Gower switched codes by signing with French

side

, having two years still to run on his contract at the Panthers. In 2008, Gower expressed his desire to play

for

. He qualified for the 'Azzurri' due to his Italian grandfather. On 13 June 2009, Gower made his first appearance for

fly-half In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...

against

after being selected for the mid-season tour of Australia and New Zealand. Italy coach

Nick Mallett Nicholas Vivian Haward Mallett (born 30 October 1956) is a former South African rugby union player who played for the Springboks, South Africa's national rugby union team, in 1984. He also coached the Springboks between 1997 and 2000 and was the ...

had initial reservations about selecting Gower.

Return to rugby league

Following the expiry of his union contract, Gower returned to

, signing a 2-year contract with the London Broncos of the

starting in 2012. As a result, he did not feature in Italy's

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 (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

campaign, and was instead selected in the

squad for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup qualifying tournament, although he missed all three matches due to injury. On 14 November 2012, Gower extended his Broncos contract by a year, making him a Bronco until the end of 2014. He was then named captain, although he stood down as captain in May. In June 2013, Gower gained a release from his Broncos contract to return to Australia and negotiate a contract with

club the

. On 8 June 2013, Gower signed a contract with the Knights for the remainder of the

2013 NRL season The 2013 NRL season was the 106th season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia. The National Rugby League's main competition, named the 2013 Telstra Premiership after major sponsors Telstra Corporation, was contested by sixte ...

. Gower was named in the Italy squad for the

2013 Rugby League World Cup The 2013 Rugby League World Cup was the fourteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup and took place in England, Wales, France and Ireland. between 26 October and 30 November 2013. It was the main event of the year's 2013 Festival of World ...

. However he did not play due to the injury he suffered at the end of the

. At the end of the

, Gower announced his retirement due to injury. On 25 June 2016, Gower was inducted into the Penrith Panthers hall of fame alongside Grahame Moran,

Royce Simmons Royce Michael Simmons (born 2 May 1960) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and coach. A one-club man, he played as a for the Penrith Panthers in the NSWRL from 1980 to 1991, winning a premiership in his final season. ...

, and

Greg Alexander Gregory Peter Stephen Alexander (born 4 March 1965), also known by the nickname of "Brandy" is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, who has since become a radio, television commentator an ...

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 bar, blaming his behavior on alcohol intoxication. He was dumped from the squad and fined A$2,500 by the

NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

and a further A$500 in court after pleading guilty to indecent exposure. In December 2005, Gower was fired as Panthers captain after incidents at a charity golf event where he argued with several guests, groped the then teenage daughter of former league player

Wayne Pearce Wayne John Pearce Order of Australia, OAM (born 29 March 1960 in Balmain, New South Wales) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and coach. An athletic for the Balmain Tigers, he was known as Junior. Pearce represented N ...

, chased

Mitchell Pearce Mitchell Pearce (born 7 April 1989) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Catalans Dragons in the Super League. He previously played for Sydney Roosters, with whom he won the 2013 NRL Grand Final and Ne ...

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. He was handed a "final warning" by the

and fined A$100,000, with A$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

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 Dawn Fraser (born 4 September 1937) is an Australian freestyle champion swimmer and former politician. She is one of only four swimmers to have won the same Olympic individual event three times – in her case the women's 100-metre 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, spokesperson for the Women's Electoral Lobby, said "reappointing Craig Gower would send all the wrong messages."

References

External links

2013 Newcastle Knights profile2013 London Broncos profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gower, Craig 1978 births Living people Australia national rugby league team captains Australia national rugby league team players Australian people of Italian descent Australian rugby league players Australian rugby union players Footballers who switched code Italy international rugby union players Italy national rugby league team players London Broncos captains London Broncos players New South Wales City Origin rugby league team players New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players Newcastle Knights players Penrith Panthers captains Penrith Panthers players Prime Minister's XIII players Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league hookers Rugby league players from Sydney