The Rugby Fobcast

King Carlos (The most exciting 1st Five ever)

April 8, 2007 on 8:45 am | In Rugby Fobcast News |

Carlos Spencer has been a favorite of the Rugby Fobcast Crew ever since he graced the Australian shores with the Undefeatable NZ Schools team in 91 as a 15yo.(With the likes of future All blacks Lomu, Jeff Wilson, Kees Mews)

Here is our tribute to the ultra talented Carlos Spencer

Carlos Spencer Carlos has been described as “the genius”, “the magician”, “King Carlos” and “the conductor of the orchestra”. His guile, deception and pace, and his ability to open up games for his outside backs give rise to these descriptions.

It was these same qualities which, as a Horowhenua teenager he used to bamboozle the Auckland side in the Ranfurly Shield Challenge in the 1993 season.

The spectacular try which he scored in that game really became the beginning of his journey to professional rugby. But even at that time he was not a novice in first class rugby.

In 1992, aged 16 and still at Waiopehu College, Carlos turned out for Horowhenua in a third division NPC match. 11 years later he is playing at the very top of world rugby and is acknowledged as one of the World’s best No. 10’s. His brilliance against Auckland in 1993 had Auckland’s coach knocking on his door, and it was not much later that Carlos moved to Auckland to fill the position left open on the retirement of the great Grant Fox.

Carlos’ reign in Auckland as the premier No. 10 has never been questioned since then. He seems to have been around for ever. Apart from absences due to injury or other representative duties, he has an impressive record of close to 100 games for Auckland and 83 for the Blues Super 12 side. Outside Auckland and the Blues he has represented New Zealand Colts, New Zealand Maori, New Zealand A and the All Blacks. His first call up for the All Blacks was in 1995 in the short tour to France. This was followed by the tour to South Africa in 1996 along with greats like Michael Jones, Sean Fitzpatrick and Zinzan Brooke - the tour which gave New Zealand its first series win on South African soil. In these tours Carlos was a midweek player.

It was not until 1997 that he enjoyed preference as the first choice No.10. Since then Carlos has been on the selection roller-coaster appearing for the All Blacks in 1998 and 1999 (but being sent home with a crushing knee injury from the World Cup in that year), the short tour of France in 2000, the short tour to England, France and Wales in 2002, and the 2003 season. He is regarded as being at the peak of his powers. The last word goes to Graham Henry whose observations on Carlos are reported by Wynne Gray in the New Zealand Herald in the following terms: ” Henry glows about the five-eighths’ work - and he has seen a fair chunk of Spencer’s provincial performances since he scored an outrageous try for Horowhenua in a Ranfurly Shield Challenge against Auckland in Levin. Ten years on, Spencer is still creating that sort of mayhem”.

” He must be the most influential player at this level”, Henry said. “He has been playing outstandingly well all year. In a very young side he is the kingpin of the team”. “He is the main navigator. He has got great instincts, a superb feel for the game and a rich regard for New Zealand and Auckland rugby”.

Information provided by his fan club!

Here is another example of when I go to pay to watch a game of rugby, this is the entertainment, you can only get when watching Carlos Spencer. WHAT A CHAMPION!