Matt Cockbain started his career at club side GPS before being recuirted along with his brother, Brent, to the Queensland Under 19s. In 1995 the tall versatile forward was called into the Queensland senior team and formed part of the founding Reds Super Rugby squad.
Cockbain was a talented all-round player and it did not take long for him to be called into the Wallaby squad, debuting off the bench in 1997 replacing the legendary John Eales against France.
He made his first start for the Wallabies at lock against the All Blacks in Christchurch.
In 1999 he was selected in the Wallabies squad that would go on to win the Rugby World Cup. Despite not featuring against Romania, Ireland and coming on as a substitute against the USA, Cockbain, started the Wallabies quarter-final match against Wales and the extra time semi-final thriller against South Africa. Following his strong performances in the knock-out stages of the World Cup he was named in the starting line-up for the final, where Australians beat France 35-12.
In the years following the World Cup, he was a regular member of the Wallabies squad and in 2004 at the age of 31, he decided to further his career in Japan.
In total, he earned 63 Test caps for Australia and turned out 73 times in Super Rugby for the Reds between 1997 and 2003.
Cockbain is the current coach of the Ricoh Black Rams in the Japanese Top League.
Career
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Black Rams Tokyo Head Coach |
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Australia No 4 Lock |
1997 - 2003 |
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Queensland Reds No 4 Lock |
1997 - 2003 |
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Cardiff Rugby No 4 Lock |
2004 - 2004 |
