|
Rugby the Game They Play In
Heaven
 Matt
has been involved with rugby all his life.
His father, Dick Laffan, coached Coffs
Harbour on the Far North Coast of New South
Wales during the 70's as Matt was growing
up. Dick then went on to coach New South
Wales Country, the New South Wales B XV
and then the New South Wales Waratahs between
1988 and 1990.
Therefore it was inevitable that the game
would seep into his blood.
Matt involved himself in the local Coffs
Harbour Club by writing the pre and post
match reports for The Coffs Harbour Advocate
for the seasons of 1986, 1987 and 1988 as
he completed his last three years of high
school.
Matt pursued this interest after arriving
at the University of Sydney by writing some
rugby articles for the University Students'
newspaper, Honi Soit, and being part of
the organisation of the Rugby Team at his
beloved St John's College.
Matt later wrote player profiles for the
Rugby News for two seasons after he had
left university and began work as a lawyer
with the New South Wales Office of the Director
of Public Prosecutions.
Since 1996 Matt has been a serving member
of the New South Wales Rugby Judiciary.
 In
2003 he worked closely with Nick Farr-Jones
as a researcher and assistant as Farr-Jones
wrote: The Story of The Rugby World Cup
by Nick Farr-Jones which was published
by Australia Post to celebrate the Rugby
World Cup being hosted in Australia that
year.
Matt also worked closely with Mary Hoban
of Australia Post by offering research assistance
for the accompanying information to the
stamp collection which was released at the
same time.
In 2001 Matt was awarded the Australian
Sports Medal for his contribution to Rugby
by the Commonwealth Government.
If you are interested in what Matt thinks
about Rugby in the professional era
just click here: Matt's
views on Rugby and the professional era
If you are interested to know who Matt's
greatest Australian XV would be just
click here: Matt's
selection for the Best Ever Wallaby Team
If you are interested in Matt's views
on how the New South Wales Waratah's are
playing this season click here: Matt's
views on the Waratahs
back
to the top of the page
|
