- Ask Steven
The playing career of Brett Gosper
John GriffithsOctober 29, 2013
What playing experience does Brett Gosper of the IRB have? Peter Campbell, England
Brett Gosper has been the IRB's CEO since the summer of 2012 when he succeeded Mike Miller.
He was born and educated in Melbourne (Victoria) where the main winter game is Aussie Rules. The son of a distinguished Australian athlete, Gosper inherited his father's pace and became a wing whose skills in state rugby circles came to the notice of the national selectors.
His highest representative honour in the 15-aside game was a match for Australia Colts v New Zealand Colts at the SCG on July 12, 1980 when the Aussie Under-21s pressed their counterparts in a narrow 10-8 defeat.
Gosper was the only representative from Victoria in a side that included the Ella twins (Gary and Glen, who skippered the Aussie Colts), future Wallabies Dominic Vaughan and Tim Lane at half-back, Lloyd Walker in the centre and Mark McBain (hooker) and Shane Nightingale (lock) in the pack.
Robbie Deans, later the All Black Test full-back (and recently the Australian coach), was at full-back for the NZ Colts who also included future Test stars Warwick Taylor, Ian Dunn and Victor Simpson behind the scrum with the Whetton twins (Alan and Gary) in a pack led by Albert Anderson, an All Black in 1983.
Gosper was among the players in contention for the Wallaby tour to the UK in 1981-2 but a move to Paris, where he played first-team rugby for Racing, effectively ended his Wallaby ambitions.
John Griffiths is a widely respected rugby historian and is the author of several sports books, a regular contributor to the Daily Telegraph and co-author of the IRB International Rugby Yearbook. He has provided insight for Scrum.com since 1999.
