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| Full name | Adam James Beard | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 7 January 1996 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Swansea, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 116 kg (256 lb; 18 st 4 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Neath Port Talbot College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Adam James Beard (born 7 January 1996) is a Welsh professional rugby union player who plays as a lock for United Rugby Championship club Ospreys and the Wales national team.
Beard made his debut for the Ospreys in 2012 having previously played for their academy team, Aberavon RFC and Birchgrove RFC.
In May 2017 Beard was named in the Wales senior squad for the tests against Tonga and Samoa in June 2017 [1] He made his debut for Wales against Samoa in Apia on the 2017 summer tour, coming on as a replacement, and then made his first start in the home victory over Georgia five months later. His 6 Nations debut came in the win over France in Paris in 2019 – his ninth straight win in a Wales shirt. He went on to start in four of the Grand Slam matches in the 2019 championships, and come on as a replacement in the other, as he extended his unbeaten run in a Welsh shirt to 11 matches up to 1 August 2019.[ citation needed ]
Beard was called into the British & Irish Lions squad for the 2021 tour to South Africa. This followed the temporary withdrawal of tour captain Alun Wyn Jones following a shoulder injury. [2] On 7 July Beard made his Lions debut in the Provincial game against the Sharks. [3] Beard would go on to make his Lions test debut in the third test against the Springboks.[ citation needed ]
Beard is in a relationship with Chelsea Lewis, the Wales netball international. [4] [5]
The Ospreys, formerly the Neath–Swansea Ospreys is one of the four professional rugby union teams from Wales. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team formed as a result of Neath RFC and Swansea RFC combining to create a new merged entity, as part of the new regional structure of Welsh rugby, that began in 2003. They are also affiliated with a number of local semi-professional and amateur clubs, including Welsh Premier Division sides Aberavon RFC, Bridgend Ravens, and original founding clubs Neath and Swansea. The regional area represented by the team has widely become known for rugby purposes as 'Ospreylia'.
Ryan Paul Jones is a Wales former international rugby union player who played at number eight, blindside flanker or second row. He was involved in three Grand Slam wins, in 2005, as captain in 2008, and 2012. He is one of a small group of Welsh players to have won three Grand Slams including Gerald Davies, Gareth Edwards, JPR Williams, Adam Jones, Gethin Jenkins and Alun Wyn Jones.
Dwayne John Peel is a Welsh rugby union coach and former player. He was the most capped scrum-half for the Wales national rugby union team with 76 caps, until his record was surpassed by Mike Phillips on 16 March 2013.
Andrew Bishop is a former Welsh international rugby union player who played for the Ospreys at Centre.
James William Hook is a retired Welsh rugby union player. Hook has won 81 caps for Wales and is Wales' fifth highest all-time points scorer. Most often playing as a fly-half, Hook is known as a utility player, and has also played as a centre, wing and fullback.
Alun Wyn Jones is a Welsh former international rugby union player who played as a lock. He played most of his career for Ospreys and for the Wales national team. He is the world's most-capped rugby union player, with 158 caps for Wales and 12 for the British & Irish Lions, and also holds the records for the most Wales caps and the second most Wales caps as captain. He retired from rugby in 2023.
Adam Rhys Jones is a Welsh former professional international rugby union player for Wales and the British & Irish Lions. He is currently scrum coach for Premiership Rugby club Harlequins.
Craig Mitchell is a retired Wales international rugby union player. He previously played for Aviva Premiership side Exeter Chiefs. He subsequently joined Newport Gwent Dragons and he was released at the end of the 2016–17 season.
Gareth Owen is a Welsh rugby union player who plays at Centre, Fullback and Flyhalf. He currently plays for Newcastle Falcons in England's second division, the RFU Championship.
Rhys Webb is a Welsh rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for Ospreys. Born in Bridgend, he is a product of the Ospreys academy and played club rugby for Bridgend RFC and Aberavon RFC before breaking into the regional side in 2008. He played for the Ospreys for 10 years before moving to French club Toulon in 2018, but terminated his contract with them in 2020 and agreed a return to the Ospreys; however, he was unable to join the Ospreys immediately and signed for Bath for the remainder of the 2019–20 season before returning to the Ospreys.
Daniel Biggar is a Welsh professional rugby union player currently playing for French Top 14 side Toulon as a fly-half. A Wales international, Biggar has also twice been selected to tour with the British and Irish Lions.
Justin Tipuric is a former Welsh international rugby union player who played for Wales as an openside flanker.
Ashley Beck is a Wales international rugby union player. Beck currently played for Merthyr RFC, and has previously played for Worcester Warriors and the Ospreys. He has represented Wales and Wales U20. He is the current attack coach of Premiership Women's Rugby side Worcester Warriors Women.
Scott Baldwin is a Welsh rugby union coach and former Welsh international rugby union player. He played as a hooker for the Ospreys, Harlequins and Worcester Warriors.
Oliver Griffiths is a Wales international rugby union player who plays for the Dragons regional team as a flanker.
Wyn Jones is a Welsh rugby union player who plays for Scarlets regional team as a prop.
Keelan Giles is a Welsh rugby union player, who plays for the Ospreys as a winger. He is a Wales under-20 international and received a call up to the Welsh senior team for their 2016 tour of New Zealand. He made the final three in BBC's Young Sports Personality of the Year 2016 along with Ellie Robinson and Amy Tinkler.
Seb Davies is a Welsh rugby union player who plays for Cardiff Rugby as a lock and can also play flanker. He is an ex-Wales under-20 international and full Welsh international.
Luke Morgan is a Welsh rugby union player who plays for the Ospreys as a wing. Born in Bridgend, Wales, he was a Wales under-20 and Wales Sevens international.
In 2017, the Wales national rugby union team's summer tour saw them play test matches against Tonga on 16 June and Samoa on 23 June. The match against Tonga was played in Auckland, New Zealand, due to concerns over the state of Teufaiva Sport Stadium in Nukuʻalofa. Wales won the match 24–6, before beating Samoa 19–17 in Apia. A veteran of the 2009 and 2013 Lions tours but unselected for their 2017 tour to New Zealand, centre Jamie Roberts captained Wales on this tour, which also saw lock Adam Beard make his international debut; Beard went on to play for the Lions on their 2021 tour to South Africa.
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