Born: 27 June, 1985 – Dargaville Test record: 17 Tests (2004-07) – 3 tries (12 points) Tours: 2004 Tri Nations, 2005 Tri Nations, 2007 tour of Great Britain and France
Super-versatile Louis Anderson’s 17-Test tenure from 2004-07 included starts at hooker, lock, second-row and off the bench.
The younger brother Warriors three-quarter and New Zealand international Vinnie, he captained the Junior Kiwis in a drawn series with the Junior Kangaroos in 2003 before graduating to NRL level the following season.
The teenager displayed his utility value immediately for the Warriors, playing five-eighth, lock, second-row, hooker and centre in 2004. The East Coast Bays junior’s meteoric rise continued with a try on Test debut in a 16-all draw against Australia in the Tri Nations opener at hooker, arguably his best position, after just 16 NRL games and only three months after his 19th birthday. Vinnie played in the unfamiliar five-eighth role in the gripping encounter.
Anderson held onto the No.9 jersey for the remainder of the Tri Nations (he came off the bench in a non-tournament clash with France) but played in the back-row for most of 2005 with the Warriors, despite being selected at hooker for the Anzac Test. He was NZ’s lock for the first two Tests of the 2005 Tri Nations, then after two interchange appearances against Great Britain, started in the second-row in the Kiwis’ stunning 24-0 defeat of Australia in the final.
He returned to hooker for the 2006 Anzac Test but played the entire NRL season in the back-row, missing just one game. Anderson missed the Kiwis’ Tri Nations campaign that year, but he was chosen for the post-season tour of Britain and France in 2007 despite making just 10 appearances for the Warriors.
Anderson scored a try for the All Golds in their 25-18 win in the commemorative fixture against Northern Union, before appearing in all four Tests. He dotted down in his last appearance for the Kiwis, an underwhelming 22-14 defeat of France in the one-off clash in Paris.
Linking with Warrington in 2008 for what would turn out to be an 11-season stay in Super League, Anderson celebrated in the Wolves’ 2009 and ’10 Challenge Cup final triumphs. He represented Exiles against England in the inaugural International Origin match in 2011 before joining Catalans the following season. After seven seasons with the French outfit, Anderson departed at the end of 2018 with more than 300 appearances in top-grade rugby league to his credit.
