All posts tagged "My Life in Rugby"
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 9 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Martin Cooper – former Moseley and England fly-half
If anyone had told me when I was first starting out at Wolverhampton RFC that I’d get 11 caps for England,...
-
Brendan Gallagher
/ 10 years agoBrendan Gallagher catches up with Italy boss Conor O’Shea
Conor O’Shea has been moving house this week and barring ferry delays, French customs getting moody and removal vans getting lost...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Ben Woods – former Leicester, Newcastle and England Saxons flanker
I grew up in south Yorkshire dreaming of becoming a footballer so I’d never have guessed that the only penalty shootout...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy life in Rugby: Brett Sturgess – former Exeter prop
I came from a football family and didn’t play rugby until about 15 when I became too big to play centre...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Miles Benjamin – former Worcester, Leicester and England Saxons wing
It’s only when you look to explore different avenues in life that you get to fully appreciate how special it was...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Hal Luscombe – Wales, NG Dragons, Harlequins and harlequins centre/wing
Coming from South Africa I didn’t fully appreciated just how big a rivalry Wales versus England was, or the magnitude of...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Andrew Small – former RFU elite panel referee
Refereeing the Army-Navy game in front of a full house at Twickenham, with my wife and kids in the crowd, was...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Tom Guest – former Harlequins and London Irish back-rower
I don’t think any player is truly happy with what they have done when your days have been cut short through...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Bleddyn Jones- former Leicester fly-half
I was named after Bleddyn Williams, the Prince of Welsh centres when I was born in 1948, in a mining village...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Mark Foster – former Gloucester, Exeter Chiefs and Jersey back
To be involved in Exeter’s first-ever Premiership game was an unbelievable experience – and to score against my former club Gloucester...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Redford Pennycook – former Bristol, Newcastle and Ealing flanker
My old mate at Bristol, James Merriman, said that life as a professional player was like being on an emotional roller-coaster:...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Derek Wyatt – former England, Bedford, Bath and Oxford University winger
The England selectors in my day were out of touch, God bless them, and coaches were even worse. I played under...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Aadel Kardooni- former Wasps, Leicester and England ‘A’ scrum-half
I don’t think I had ever seen, let alone held, a rugby ball until I came over to the UK from...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Jason Strange- former Ebbw Vale Newport, Bristol and Leeds fly-half
I look back fondly on my time at each club I played for but my second spell at Ebbw Vale, and...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: David Officer – former Scotland A, harlequins, Edinburgh and Worcester centre
Randall Philip (Edin-burgh University) and Graham Hogg (Currie) were major influences in my early rugby career, but it was while playing...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Steve Gustard – former Gosforth winger
When I joined Gosforth from Blaydon in 1971, there weren’t any great stars in the squad. Yes, future England scrum-half Mal...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy life in Rugby: Steve Boyle – former England, Lions, Gloucester and Moseley lock
The day I was told I’d been selected for the 1983 Lions was probably the happiest and saddest of my life....
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Niall Woods – former Ireland, Leinster, London Irish and Harlequins winger
When the game turned professional I was playing for Blackrock College and Leinster and had a handful of Ireland caps. The...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in rugby: Peter Clegg – Otley Director of Rugby
For me, defeats stick in the memory more than the wins, and few hurt quite as hard as Otley’s last-gasp loss...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Mike Bulpitt – former Blackheath and England back
Easter tours to Wales with the Barbarians were absolutely amazing experiences and the games came thick and fast. Playing four games...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Ayoola Erinle – Former Wasps, Leicester, Biarritz, Nottingham and England centre
Wasps really were avant-garde under the coaching of Warren Gatland, Shaun Edwards and Craig White, and I count myself very fortunate...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Peter Squires – former Ripon, Harrogate, England and Lions wing
Ripon born and bred, I was lucky enough to be able to play both county cricket and rugby for Yorkshire. I...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Olly Kohn – former Harlequins, Bristol, Plymouth and Wales lock
First and foremost, I feel lucky to have been involved in what felt like a golden era for Quins. Conor O’Shea...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Nigel Horton – former England, Moseley and Toulouse lock
Being the first England player to play for their country across three decades, I once found myself the subject of a...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Ross Reynolds – former Wallaby No.8 and Rotherham, Australia and Brumbies coach
Having won Premierships in Australian club rugby as both a player and a coach with Manly, Gordon and Sydney University, it...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Tony de Mulder – Doncaster president
It was a great honour to lead the side out against Moseley last month when I celebrated my 25th anniversary as...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Jake Abbott – former Worcester and England Sevens
I’m living the proverbial dream as the first professional overseas player in America at the country’s first professional rugby club, Griffins...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Rob Hardwick – former Coventry, London Irish and England prop
Playing for Coventry and treading the same turf as my heroes had done was something I’d always aspired to when I...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Darren Molloy – former Wasps, Gloucester and Leinster prop
Once a Wasp, always a Wasp is an oft-used phrase that resonates with me 100 per cent. From the day I...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Richard Moon – former Harlequins scrum-half
I’ve got an embarrassingly long list of former clubs but Walsall RFC is where my playing days, aged five to 35,...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Scott Mathie – former Bulls, Sharks, Leeds and Sale scrum-half
If there is one match I’d like to be able to go back in time and change, it would be my...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Mark Bakewell – former Eastern Suburbs player and Bath coach
With more than 400 games as a player (prop and back row) and coach, Eastern Suburbs in Sydney is definitely my...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Mark Jones – former Scarlets and Wales wing now Rotherham coach
Hopefully my rugby career has plenty of miles left on the clock – the long commute from Llanelli to Rotherham certainly...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Roland de Marigny – former Italy, Leeds, Calvisano, Bangor and Natal Sharks full-back
For me not facing down the Haka hurt more than the result when Italy played New Zealand in our opening match...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Darren Fox – former Northampton flanker
If I’m brutally honest with myself I didn’t fulfill my potential as a player. Yes, I played 149 games for Saints...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Chris Cracknell – former England Sevens star
I’ve always been a bit of a nomad so playing Sevens around the world for 10 years suited me. In so...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Chris Bell – former Plymouth, Harlequins, Sale & Wasps centre
As head of off-field player development at Wasps, I’m relishing the chance to help the next generation of professional players coming...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Steve Bainbridge – Former Blaydon, Fylde, Orrell, Gosforth, England & Lions Lock
I’m firmly of the belief that National Service or a couple of years of compulsory rugby would help today’s youth understand...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Ollie Campbell – former Ireland and Lions fly-half
Rugby is not just a sport, it’s a way of life. At nine, my Dad took me to Lansdowne Road for...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Neil Kelly – Romania defence coach
As defence coach of Romania I’m really looking forward to the World Cup, it should be a great opportunity for Romania...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Chas Cusani – former Orrell lock
My reputation as a ‘no-holds barred’ player may have gone before me during 20 years with Orrell, Lancashire and the North,...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Dennis Hickie – former Leinster and Ireland wing
Overall I have to be very thankful for what I was able to achieve in rugby with the help of great...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy life in Rugby: Bleddyn Bowen – former Wales captain and Swansea centre
Captaining Wales to the 1988 Triple Crown was a huge honour. Not only was it Wales’ first for nearly a decade...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Robin Cowling – former England prop
With my family background I suppose I was destined to play rugby. My dad came from County Durham and played Rugby...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Tommy Hayes – former Waikato, Glasgow & Bristol fly-half
When I moved over to Scotland from New Zealand in the late Nineties I was warned to pack plenty of coats...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Roger Shackleton – former Harrogate and England fly-half
Receiving a letter from then secretary Robin Prescott inviting me to play for England a few days after I’d broken my...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 10 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Tony Bond – former Broughton Park, Sale, Neath and England centre
They say a week is a long time in politics and the same is true of rugby, in my experience anyway....
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 11 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Tony Yapp – Taunton head coach
A couple of years ago I learned I’d scored 2,999 points in Premiership, National League and Cup rugby. There was no...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 11 years agoMy Life in Rugby: John Devereux – Wales dual-code international
I was one of the last crop of players who was capped while still a student at what was then known...
-
My Life in Rugby
/ 11 years agoMy Life in Rugby: Keith Robertson – former Scotland wing
When I began playing, in U19s age group rugby, at Melrose, you had to have boiled white shorts, polished black boots...












