User:Bellagio99

Doug Howlett

Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	14 st 9 lb (93 kg)
School	Auckland Grammar School
Spouse	Monique
Occupation(s)	Professional rugby player
Rugby union career
Position(s) Template:Wing, Template:Fullback Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 1998 - 2007 Auckland Marist () Correct as of 1 Sept 2006 Provincial / State sides Years Team Apps (Points) 1998 - 2007 2008 - Present Auckland Munster 56 7 (250) (15) Correct as of 12 August 2007 Super Rugby Years Team Apps (Points) 1999 - 2007 Blues 108 (295) Correct as of 1 Sept 2006 International career Years Team Apps (Points) 2000 - 2007 New Zealand 62 (245) [49t] Correct as of 8 September 2007

Douglas Charles Howlett is a professional New Zealand rugby union player of Tongan descent. He is primarily a Template:Wing but he has also covered Template:Fullback at national and international levels. He currently plays in Ireland with Munster Rugby.

Early life

Born September 21 1978 in Auckland, Howlett started playing rugby at Auckland Grammar School, where he was also a star sprinter, captain of athletics and, during his final year in 1996, head prefect. He calls upon his speed as a sprinter (he once clocked a personal best 10.68 seconds for the 100 metres in an under 20 athletics championship in 1998) to great effect in his rugby career.

Career

He made his first-class debut at the age of 18 for Auckland in the NPC. He currently plays for the Irish province Munster where he will play in the Magners League and Heineken Cup. On the international scene, he debuted for the All Blacks on June 16, 2000. Since then, he has scored on average 4 points per game (155 from his first 38). He was also a first choice winger in the 2003 World Cup.

Howlett has scored 49 tries for the All Blacks, a team record. His hat-trick against Italy on September 8, 2007, at the 2007 Rugby World Cup, brought him level with the record of Christian Cullen, the All Blacks' previous leading try scorer and then his try in the 15th minute against Scotland on September 23 gave him the record.

Howlett was selected for the Rugby World Cup squad ahead of Canterbury and Tasman player Rico Gear; however, he was expected to play the first 3 rounds of the 2007 Air New Zealand Cup. He scored a hat trick in Auckland's victory over Counties Manukau in the first round, and on the 11th of August against Waikato he scored two, bringing his try total for Auckland to 50. Howlett is known as a winger with a high work rate and strong defensive tackling ability. As with other All Black players Doug has been courted by Northern Hemisphere clubs looking for a star signing in the aftermath of the Rugby World Cup. On the 30th of August 2007 Howlett signed for Munster, following in the footsteps of that other All Black great, Christian Cullen, who commonly wore No. 22 for the province. Doug joined Munster at the start of 2008.

Howlett was arrested on the 9th October 2007 outside Heathrow Airport's Hilton Hotel on suspicion of criminal damage on two cars[1] following running up a bar tab of NZ$31,000 with some friends. It is possible they were drowning their sorrows from the All Blacks loss in Cardiff to the French a few days earlier on 6 October, a game in which Howlett, who had been in form throughout the Rugby World Cup tournament, was controversially left out of the team. Howlett subsequently issued an apology through the media. His career with the All Blacks thus ended on this low note.

Howlett has made a superb start to his Munster career. He made his debut in the Heineken Cup against Clermont Auvergne, notably starting the movement for Lifeimi Mafi's wonderful try. His second match came against London Wasps where he notably dived to save the ball in the build up to Denis Leamy's try, as well as demolishing David Doherty with a superb tackle. He scored his first Munster try against Ulster on the 22nd March 2008.

On the 24th May 2008 Doug was part of the Munster team that won the 2008 European Rugby Cup in the final match against Toulouse which Munster won 16-13 thanks to a Denis Leamy try and 11 points from the boot of Ronan O'Gara. Doug won his first cup with Munster only five and a half months into his career in the Northern Hemisphere. Doug himself scored a great try in the final only for it to be disallowed due to a forward pass from Rua Tipoki.

Doug joins Rod Kafer as the only the second player to have won the major rugby tournaments in the Southern and Northern hemisphere, the Super 14 and Heineken Cup. He enjoyed his success with the Auckland Blues in 2003 and Munster in 2008.

Howlett can squat half his own bodyweight.

Foundation

On 22 February 2007 Howlett launched "The Doug Howlett Outreach Foundation" which is aimed at New Zealand children between the ages of 8 and 14 who demonstrate ability academically as well as on the sports field or court initially, in the codes of rugby union, Rugby league, and netball. Specifically it will assist with school fees, school books, sports fees and sports shoes or boots.

External links

• Doug Howlett at AllBlacks.com
• Official site