Lachlan 'Lachie' David Turner (born 11 May 1987) is an Australian professional

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player who retired at the end of 2018 season. In his usual position of

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

. He has a strong kicking game, which allows him to also play at fullback. Turner has represented

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in international Test rugby. He played

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...

for the

New South Wales Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), often referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team based in Sydney that represents the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby Pacific competition. The Waratahs play t ...

from 2007 to 2013, before joining the

Queensland Reds The Queensland Reds is the rugby union team based in Brisbane for the Australian state of Queensland that competes in the Southern Hemisphere's Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996, they were a representative team selected from the rugby union ...

in 2014. Turner then joined the NSW Waratahs but unfortunately tore his hamstring and had to have surgery.

Early life

Born in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Turner attended

Newington College Newington College is a multi-campus Independent school, independent Uniting Church in Australia, Uniting Church Single-sex education, single-sex and Mixed-sex education, co-educational Pre-school education, early learning, Primary school, primar ...

and was selected for the

Australian Schoolboys The Australian Schoolboys refer to junior teams that represent Australia in various sports. The name is mainly used in rugby league, rugby union and baseball. Other popular team sports in Australia such as cricket, basketball, association footbal ...

rugby team in 2005. Turner played club rugby for Eastwood, and was invited to join the Waratahs Academy in 2006 under coach Joe Barakat's guidance. He was selected for and played in the Australian Under 19 side which won the 2006 Under 19 Rugby World Championship in Dubai.

Club career

Turner made his debut for the Waratahs against

Reds Reds may refer to: General * Red (political adjective), supporters of Communism or socialism * ''Reds'' (film), a 1981 American film starring and directed by Warren Beatty * Reds (January Uprising), a faction of the Polish insurrectionists duri ...

in the 2006

Australian Provincial Championship The Australian Provincial Championship, or APC was a rugby union football competition played in Australia. It was one of several provincial competitions since the late 1960s, including the Wallaby Trophy and Ricoh National Championship, that ha ...

, and was awarded the inaugural Chris Whitaker Aspiring Waratah Award at the end of the 2006 season. In 2007, Turner earned his first

Super 14 Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...

cap for the Waratahs in round seven against the

Stormers The Stormers (known for sponsorship reasons as the DHL Stormers) and the academic team DHL Stormers is a South African professional rugby union team based in Cape Town in the Western Cape that competes in the United Rugby Championship, a tra ...

in Sydney. The highlight for Turner came against the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...

Sydney Football Stadium Sydney Football Stadium may refer to: * Sydney Football Stadium (1988), the original stadium which was demolished in 2019. * Sydney Football Stadium (2022) Sydney Football Stadium, currently known as Allianz Stadium for sponsorship reasons, i ...

, where he scored a solo try from his own half, beating several defenders for pace. He capped off the season by winning the 2007 Super Rugby Rookie of the Year award. From his debut in 2007 through to the end of the 2011 season, Turner did not miss a Super Rugby match for the Waratahs – an impressive run of 67 consecutive appearances. Turner scored two tries in the 2008 Super 14 final against the

in Christchurch, giving the Waratahs an early 12–3 lead, but they lost structure after

Kurtley Beale Kurtley James Beale (born 6 January 1989) is an Australian professional rugby union representative player who has made over 90 national representative appearances in a ten-year playing career at the world-class level. He is of Aboriginal desce ...

went off injured and the Crusaders won the match 20–12 to claim the 2008 title. In the 2010 season, he scored an intercept try against the

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

with eight minutes left, sealing the win for the Waratahs and keeping the team in top four finals contention. During 2011, he switched position from wing to centre for the first time for the Waratahs, to cover for the injured

Rob Horne Rob Horne (born 15 August 1989) is an Australian former rugby union footballer who played at centre for the Waratahs, Northampton Saints, and Australia. Early life Horne attended Lugarno Public School and Georges River College, Oatley Campus ...

. Turner sustained a hamstring tear in 2012 during a pre-season trial match for the Waratahs against Samoa, and was forced to miss all but the last two matches of the

2012 Super Rugby season The 2012 Super Rugby season was the second season of the Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included tea ...

. In April 2013, he had his Super Rugby ambitions derailed for the second year in a row after suffering a season ending leg break while playing Sydney club rugby for Eastwood against Manly. Turner had been in and out of the Waratahs side until then, and had earned only two Super caps for the 2013 season, in the selection battle for the Waratahs back three. In 2013, Turner signed a two-year deal to play for the

, starting from the

2014 Super Rugby season The 2014 Super Rugby season is the fourth season of the 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition involving teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. For sponsorship reasons, this competition is known as Asteron Life Super Rugby ...

. In 2015, Turner came over to Europe and joined

RC Toulon Rugby Club Toulonnais (), also referred to as Rugby Club Toulon or simply Toulon, is a French professional rugby union club based in Toulon and competing in the Top 14. Located on the French Riviera, in the Provence region, the club plays its h ...

as cover during the

2015 Rugby World Cup The IRB 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was ...

. However, on 16 February 2016 it was announced that Turner had joined

Aviva Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition, consisting of 10 clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby u ...

club

Exeter Chiefs Exeter Chiefs (officially Exeter Rugby Club) is an England, English professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1871 and since 2006 has played i ...

on a two-and-a-half-year deal.

International career

On 25 May 2007, Turner was selected for Australia A against

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

in Sydney. He scored three tries in a man-of-the-match performance. Despite calls from some quarters for him to be included in the Wallabies squad for the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup () was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by F ...

in France, the then 20-year-old winger was left at home. An injury to

Lote Tuqiri Lote Daulako Tuqiri (born 23 September 1979) is a former professional dual-code rugby footballer who primarily played as a winger across both codes. He represented Australia in both rugby league and rugby union, and Fiji in rugby league. Tuqir ...

enabled Turner to make his Test debut on 5 July 2008, starting on the wing against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. He toured with the Wallabies on the 2008 Spring tour, and played against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Padova Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of ...

. Turner was selected for all three 2009 June Tests and for all six matches of the

2009 Tri Nations Series The 2009 Tri Nations Series was the fourteenth annual Tri Nations Series, Tri Nations rugby union series between the national rugby union teams of New Zealand national rugby union team, New Zealand, Australia national rugby union team, Australia ...

. He toured with the Wallabies on the 2009 Spring tour but did not play any Test matches. In August 2010, he was recalled to the Wallabies squad following injuries to Peter Hynes and Cameron Shepherd, and when

Drew Mitchell Drew Alan Mitchell (born 26 March 1984) is a former Australian rugby union professional player. He played on the wing or as fullback. Up to the 2006 season he played for the Queensland Reds. He played for the Western Force for the 2007–09 Su ...

succumbed to a hamstring injury, Turner played on the wing against the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

ANZ Stadium Stadium Australia, currently known as Accor Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the suburb of Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The stadium, which is sometimes referred to as Sydney Ol ...

in the

Bledisloe Cup The Bledisloe Cup is an annual rugby union competition between the national teams of Australia's Wallabies and New Zealand's All Blacks that has been contested since the 1930s. The frequency that the competition is held has varied, as has the n ...

match in Sydney on 11 September 2010. Turner made two further Wallaby tours, in 2010 and 2011. He played in the wins over

and

in 2010, and in the win against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...

in 2011. He was a member of the 2010 Rugby Sevens squad that won silver at the Delhi Commonwealth Games.

Personal achievement

On 15 September 2010, Turner won the "Gatorade Bolt", an invitational 100 metres race held at

Sydney Olympic Park Sydney Olympic Park is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, located 13 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government area of the City of Parramatta, City of Parramatta Council. It i ...

, to earn himself the unofficial title of the fastest professional footballer in Australia. The event was named for the presence of athletics sprint champion

Usain Bolt Usain St. Leo Bolt (; born 21 August 1986) is a Jamaican retired sprinter who is widely regarded as the greatest sprinter of all time. He is an eight-time Olympic gold medalist and the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, ...

, who provided some coaching for the runners and also celebrated the 10th anniversary of the

2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony The opening ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics took place on the evening of Friday, 15 September 2000 in Stadium Australia, Sydney, during which the Games were formally opened by then-Governor-General Sir William Deane. As mandated by the Oly ...

held in Sydney. The race featured Turner's rugby union club teammate John Grant,

NRL The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

players

Jarryd Hayne Jarryd Lee Hayne (born 1988) is an Australian semi-professional rugby league footballer who plays for Wentworthville Magpies in the Ron Massey Cup. He briefly moved to the US to play the running back position for San Francisco 49ers in the 2 ...

Greg Inglis Gregory Paul Inglis (born 15 January 1987), also known by the nickname of "G.I.", is a retired Indigenous Australian professional rugby league footballer, who regularly played as a centre, fullback, five-eighth and wing. From 2011 to 2019, Ing ...

, Josh Morris,

Nathan Gardner Nathan Gardner (born 3 July 1990), also known by the nickname of "Gards", is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who has played in the 2000s and 2010s. He has played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, usually as a , but also as ...

, and

Ben Barba Benjamin Barba (born 13 June 1989) is an Australian former professional dual code rugby league & rugby union footballer who last played for St Helens in the Super League. He primarily played as a or . Barba won the Dally M Medal award for ...

, plus Matt Lewis from the

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

, and

Courtenay Dempsey Courtenay Dempsey (born 28 August 1987) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). In 2024, Dempsey was named at Number 94 in Don The Stat’s Top 100 ...

from the

AFL AFL may refer to: Education * Angel Foundation for Learning, a Canadian Roman Catholic charity * Ankara Science High School, a high school in Ankara, Turkey, natively referred to as ''Ankara Fen Liesi'' * Assessment for learning Military * ...

. Turner won the race with a time of 11.10s, in a close contest from Grant (11.15) and league's Jarryd Hayne (11.20).

Reference list

External links

* *
Reds profile
* *
Article on Turner set to become a rising star, by Spiro Zavos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Lachlan 1987 births Australian rugby union players Australia international rugby union players New South Wales Waratahs players Queensland Reds players Brisbane City (rugby union) players Rugby union wings Rugby union fullbacks People educated at Newington College Living people Australia international rugby sevens players Male rugby sevens players Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia Rugby sevens players at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists in rugby sevens Commonwealth Games rugby sevens players for Australia Rugby union players from Sydney Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games 2011 Rugby World Cup players Eastwood Rugby Club players RC Toulon players Australian expatriate rugby union players in France Exeter Chiefs players Australian expatriate rugby union players in England 21st-century Australian sportsmen