Nathan Charles (born 9 January 1989) is a former

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 ...

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 ...

player and now sports administrator. He played hooker for the

Western Force The Western Force is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Perth, Western Australia, currently competing in Super Rugby Pacific. They previously played in Super Rugby from 2006 until they were axed from the competition in 2017. ...

in the

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

competition, having previously played for the

Melbourne Rebels The Melbourne Rebels is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Melbourne. They made their debut in SANZAR's Super Rugby tournament in 2011. They were the first privately owned professional rugby union team in Australia, until 2017 ...

Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's six ...

in the Shute Shield & Western Sydney Rams in the NRC. He signed with English club Gloucester RFC in August 2011, but played there for only part of the 2011–12 northern hemisphere season before returning to Australia to continue his spell with the Force and pursue his dream to play for the Wallabies.

Career

Nathan began playing rugby at the Wahroonga Tigers Rugby Club in Sydney, where he played over 200 games and gained junior representative honours for Gordon, Metropolitan North & Sydney Juniors. Nathan attended proud rugby school, Knox Grammar, also in Sydney, where he went on to represent CAS, NSW Schoolboys & Australian Schoolboys. During his final two years of schooling (2005-6, Nathan played for Knox Grammar School in Sydney on the Saturday, and the Canterbury SG Ball team on either the Friday or Sunday. Charles signed a Bulldogs contract, but had an agreement that if he made the Australian Schoolboys team, he could get out of the deal. Selection in the 2006 Schoolboys line-up ensured he was Super rugby, rather than NRL, bound. He played for the ACT Brumbies in 2008–10, also making the Australian under-20 team through his successful exploits as the starting hooker at Sydney University. Charles' first Super 14 game was for the Western Force in 2010. His debut was in the eighth round against the touring South Africa side, The Stormers. In October 2010 at 21 years of age, Nathan Charles was selected to the Qantas Wallabies Training Squad for the 2010 Spring Tour. However, he made no appearances on that tour. His next opportunity for his first cap came in June 2014 for the Wallabies' second Test against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

; Charles was named to the bench following a knee injury to Stephen Moore. He is believed to be the only person in the world with

cystic fibrosis Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a rare genetic disorder that affects mostly the lungs, but also the pancreas, liver, kidneys, and intestine. Long-term issues include difficulty breathing and coughing up mucus as a result of frequent lung infections. O ...

to play any contact sport professionally. After naming Charles to the substitutes' bench for the aforementioned France Test, Wallabies head coach

Ewen McKenzie Ewen James Andrew McKenzie (born 21 June 1965) is an Australian professional rugby union coach and a former international rugby player. He played for Australia's World Cup winning team in 1991 and earned 51 caps for the Wallabies during his tes ...

said, "If you look at the symptoms and classic outcomes of cystic fibrosis it's not a great scenario from a sporting point of view, but he seems to have defied science and defied logic." In 2016 Charles made a move to France for

ASM Clermont Auvergne Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne () is a French rugby union club from Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes that currently competes in Top 14, the top level of the French league system. Clermont are two times French ...

as medical cover in the year that Clermont won their first top 14 title. Following this stint Charles was signed by

Bath Rugby Bath Rugby is a professional rugby union club in Bath, Somerset, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Founded in 1865 as Bath Football Club, since 1894 the club has played at the Recreation Ground in the c ...

another european powerhouse. Charles went on to represent Bath for 18 months before retiring in 2018.

Super Rugby statistics

Personal life

Married

West Coast Fever West Coast Fever is an Australian netball team based in Perth, Western Australia. Since 2017 they have played in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 and 2016, they competed in the ANZ Championship. Between 1997 and 2007, as Perth Orioles, th ...

netball player Verity Charles (née Simmons) in December 2016. Now divorced.

References

External links

Qantas WallabiesWestern Force RugbyNathan Charles Official WebsiteNathan is an ambassador for the 65 Roses Cystic Fibrosis Charity
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles, Nathan 1989 births Australian rugby union players Australia international rugby union players Western Force players Gloucester Rugby players Rugby union hookers Rugby union players from Sydney Living people Australian expatriate rugby union players in England Australian expatriate rugby union players in France People educated at Knox Grammar School University of Sydney alumni ASM Clermont Auvergne players Greater Sydney Rams players Melbourne Rebels players Perth Spirit players Bath Rugby players Wasps RFC players People with cystic fibrosis Sydney University Football Club players