Billy Twelvetrees

Last updated

Billy Twelvetrees
USO-Gloucester Rugby - 20141025 - Billy Twelvetrees 2.jpg
Birth nameWilliam Wesley Twelvetrees
Date of birth (1988-11-15) 15 November 1988 (age 34)
Place of birth Chichester, England
Height1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Weight103 kg (227 lb; 16 st 3 lb) [1]
School The Weald School, Billingshurst
SpouseGeorgie Twelvetrees
Rugby union career
Position(s) Centre/Fly-Half
Amateur team(s)
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2006–2008 Leicester Lions ()
Senior career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2008–2009
2009–2012
2012–2023
2023–		 Bedford Blues
Leicester Tigers
Gloucester Rugby
Ealing Trailfinders 		31
46
252		 (161)
(301)
(927)
Correct as of 28 April 2023
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)

2013–2015
2013 		England Saxons
England
British & Irish Lions
22
0
(15)
(0)
Correct as of 21 March 2015

William Wesley Twelvetrees (born 15 November 1988) is a rugby union footballer who currently plays centre or fly-half for Ealing Trailfinders and formerly played as inside centre for the England national rugby team.

Contents

Whilst playing for the Leicester Tigers, Twelvetrees was nicknamed '36' based on the Irish-accented pronunciation of twelvetrees by club captain Geordan Murphy, which sounded like "twelve threes", or 36. [2]

Early life

Twelvetrees grew up in Wisborough Green, West Sussex. [3] He is the son of Kevin Twelvetrees, a tree surgeon, and Beverley Twelvetrees. He attended Wisborough Green Primary School and later The Weald Secondary School in Billingshurst. [4] He is the youngest of four brothers who were all encouraged to play rugby by their mother, Beverley, with his older brothers Jonathan and twins Matthew and Joseph providing suitable competition.

Growing up, Twelvetrees was active in a range of sports including football and cricket. During his youth he spent his summer weekends playing for Wisborough Green Cricket Club where he was proficient with the bat: "Billy’s still got the biggest hit for Wisborough Green Cricket Club. From the most distant wicket he cleared the pavilion with a six."

Twelvetrees spent his youth at a succession of Sussex rugby clubs, including a spell at Haywards Heath in the same side as Joe Marler but it was a family friend (a part-owner of Leicester Lions) who would provide Twelvetrees with his first foray into professional rugby. While Twelvetrees was with the Lions, a coach there put him in touch with the-then Leicester Tigers academy manager, Andy Key, and after playing summer Sevens by way of a trial, he was taken on.

He also received regular mentoring from expert players who suggested moving him to inside centre from fly-half. This move would prove very fruitious as his versatility led to more game time. Focusing on his passing game to compliment his natural physicality was a big priority at this time which made him a huge asset in the midfield, where he was regularly deployed as a second playmaker. Twelvetrees has remarked that this was imperative to him becoming a professional. [5]

Club career

As a junior, Twelvetrees played for Pulborough, Horsham and Haywards Heath. He joined the Leicester Tigers academy from Leicester Lions in 2007, and moved to Bedford Blues for the 2008–09 season. After an outstanding season for Bedford, in which he scored 18 tries, 16 conversions and 13 penalties, he re-signed for Tigers in 2009. [6]

He made his first appearance for Leicester in the Heineken Cup on 11 October, filling in for Dan Hipkiss, who was ruled out just prior to kick-off. Despite making his debut with just 10-minutes' notice, he won Man of the Match, scoring a try in a 14-point haul. [7] Unfortunately, he was injured in his next match and ruled out for a large part of the season. He went on to make just six appearances in 2009–10, scoring four tries.

In the opening games of the 2010–11 season, Leicester lost Toby Flood, Jeremy Staunton and George Ford to injury and Twelvetrees was again thrust into the starting line-up, this time at fly-half.

On 28 January 2012, Twelvetrees signed a two-year deal to move from Leicester Tigers to play for Gloucester Rugby. However, on 27 September 2013, Twelvetrees signed a two-year contract extension to stay with Gloucester until the end of the 2015–16 season. [8] On 15 August 2014, Twelvetrees was named new club captain for Gloucester for the 2014–15 season. [9] In September 2017, he was awarded 'Try of the Week' for his week 4 try against Worcester Warriors. [10]

In October 2021, Twelvetrees was awarded a testimonial year in honour of his 10th season with the club [11]

International career

He was called up for the second string national side, England Saxons, in 2011. [12]

A year later after leaving Leicester for Gloucester Twelvetrees was handed his first full international cap by Stuart Lancaster for England's Calcutta Cup clash with Scotland at Twickenham, scoring a try on his debut. [13] On 12 June 2013, following an impressive performance against Argentina, Twelvetrees was called up to the British & Irish Lions tour of Australia due to concerns about possible injuries sustained by the fly halves and centres prior to the tests. [14]

International tries

As of 7 July 2019 [15]
TryOpposing teamLocationVenueCompetitionDateResultScore
1Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland London, England Twickenham Stadium 2013 Six Nations 2 February 2013Win38 – 18 [16]
2Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina Salta, Argentina Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena 2013 Summer Internationals 8 June 2013Win32 – 3 [17]
3Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina London, EnglandTwickenham Stadium 2013 Autumn Internationals 9 November 2013Win31 – 12 [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leicester Tigers</span> English rugby union club, based in Leicester

Leicester Tigers are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Johnson (rugby union)</span> British Lions & England international rugby union player & coach

Martin Osborne Johnson CBE is an English retired rugby union player who represented and captained England and Leicester in a career spanning 16 seasons. He captained England to victory in the 2003 Rugby World Cup, and is regarded as one of the greatest locks ever to have played, and one of England's greatest ever players.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neil Back</span> British Lions & England international rugby union player

Neil Antony Back MBE is a former international rugby union footballer for England and the British & Irish Lions who also played for Nottingham RFC, Leicester Tigers, and captained both England and Leicester during his career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geordan Murphy</span> Rugby player

Geordan Edward Andrew Murphy is an Irish rugby union rugby coach and player who retired from the professional game as the most-decorated man in Premiership Rugby history. He played as fullback or wing for the Irish international team and the English club Leicester Tigers as well as for the British & Irish Lions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Corry (rugby union)</span> British Lions & England international rugby union player

Martin Edward Corry MBE is a retired English rugby union player who represented and captained England and Leicester Tigers in a career spanning 14 seasons. Corry played 64 times for England between 1997 and 2007, played 7 tests for the British & Irish Lions on tours in 2001 & 2005, and played 290 times for Leicester between 1997 and 2009. Earlier in his career he played top division rugby for Newcastle Gosforth and Bristol. A versatile player his principal positions were number eight and blindside flanker, he also played lock more as his career progressed.

Leon David Lloyd is a retired English rugby union footballer who played wing or outside centre for Leicester Tigers between 1996 and 2007, spending his final 2007/8 season at Gloucester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Goode</span> England international rugby union player

Andrew James Goode is a sports pundit and retired rugby union player. Goode had an 18-year professional career playing over 400 games and scoring over 4,000 points. He played professionally in England, France and South Africa featuring for Leicester Tigers, Saracens, Worcester Warriors, Wasps and Newcastle Falcons in England's Premiership Rugby, CA Brive in France's Top 14 and for Super Rugby's Sharks in South Africa. Goode represented England 17 times between 2005 and 2009 scoring 107 points.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toby Flood</span> England international rugby union player

Tobias Gerald Albert Cecil Lieven Flood is an English rugby union coach and former player. He is currently kicking and skills coach at Newcastle Falcons in Premiership Rugby. During his playing career his position was fly half or inside centre. He played over 300 games in his club career across his three professional clubs, Newcastle Falcons, Toulouse and Leicester Tigers. He played 60 international matches for England between 2006 and 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Lamb</span> English rugby union player

Ryan Lamb is an English former rugby union player who played at fly-half.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyle Eastmond</span> England dual-code international rugby footballer

Kyle Ovid Eastmond is a former dual-code rugby international, who played for Bath Rugby and Leicester Tigers. He also played for England on multiple occasions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Croft</span> British Lions & England international rugby union player

Tom Croft is a retired rugby union player. He played 173 games for Leicester Tigers between 2005–17 winning four Premiership Rugby titles, played 40 times for England between 2008–2015, was part of the squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, and the British & Irish Lions in 2009 to South Africa and 2013 to Australia. His career was somewhat plagued with a variety of minor and serious injuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Youngs</span> British Lions & England international rugby union player

Benjamin Ryder Youngs is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for Premiership Rugby club Leicester Tigers and formerly the England national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leicester Lions RFC</span> English rugby union club, based in Leicestershire

Leicester Lions are a rugby union club which currently play in the third tier of the English rugby union system, National League 1, following their promotion from National League 2 West in 2023. The Lions are a leading amateur club in Leicester and along with Loughborough University and Hinckley are the senior clubs in Leicestershire after Premiership Rugby side Leicester Tigers. The club was formed as a result of an amalgamation between two local clubs in 1998, these being Westleigh RFC and Wigston RFC.

Dean Richards is a rugby union coach and former player for Leicester Tigers, England and British & Irish Lions. He was most recently the Director of Rugby at Newcastle Falcons, a position he held for ten years between 2012 and 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freddie Burns</span> England international rugby union legend

Freddie Spencer Burns is an English professional rugby union player who plays fly-half for Super Rugby side Highlanders. Burns played over 100 times for Gloucester between 2007–2014, and over 100 times for Leicester Tigers across two spells, he also represented Bath in Premiership Rugby. He has also played for Toyota Industries Shuttles in Japan. Burns played five times for England between 2012 and 2014, including beating the All Blacks in 2012. In June 2022 he kicked the winning drop goal in the final minute of the Premiership final for Leicester against Saracens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Ford (rugby union)</span> England international rugby union footballer

George Thomas Ford is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a fly-half for Premiership Rugby club Sale Sharks and the England national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonny May</span> England international rugby union player

Jonathan James May is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a wing for Premiership Rugby club Gloucester and the England national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Scott (rugby union)</span> Scotland international rugby union player

Matthew Scott is a Scottish rugby union player with 40 caps for Scotland who plays for Leicester Tigers in England's Premiership Rugby. His regular playing position is Centre.

Gareth Evans is an English retired professional rugby union player. Between 2011 and 2019 played 85 times for Gloucester, and also played for the Ospreys in Wales. He joined Leicester Tigers in August 2021, but retired without featuring in a first team game for the club in November 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Burns (rugby union)</span> Ireland international rugby union player

Billy Sean Burns is a professional rugby union player who plays for Ulster and Ireland. His favoured position is fly-half. He is the younger brother of England rugby union team fly-half Freddie Burns. Born in England, Burns represented England for youth rugby union teams, before choosing to represent Ireland at the 2020 Six Nations Championship

References

  1. ↑ "Aviva Premiership Rugby – Gloucester Rugby". web page. Premier Rugby. Archived from the original on 1 December 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  2. ↑ Hands, David (13 October 2009). "Leicester ponder whether to let Billy Twelvetrees put down roots". The Times. London. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  3. ↑ Kitson, Robert (27 January 2012). "Billy Twelvetrees 'There are a lot of frustrations at Leicester'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  4. ↑ "Billy Twelvetrees – Official RFU England Profile". Rugby Football Union. Archived from the original on 23 May 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  5. ↑ "Attacking Scrum - Wales Rugby Podcast for Welsh Rugby fans: Billy Twelvetrees and Frilly Knickers on Apple Podcasts".
  6. ↑ "Leicester land fly-half Staunton". BBC Sport. 29 July 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
  7. ↑ Turnbill, Simon (12 October 2009). "Leicester rescued by dream debutant". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
  8. ↑ "Twelvetrees contract extension with Gloucester". BBC Sport. 27 September 2013.
  9. ↑ "Billy Twelvetrees named new Gloucester club captain". Gloucester Rugby. 15 August 2014.
  10. ↑ "Citizen Try of the Week – (Round 4 Winner)". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021 – via YouTube.
  11. ↑ "Billy Twelvetrees awarded Testimonial Year with Gloucester Rugby". Gloucester Rugby. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  12. ↑ "England Saxons 45–17 Italy A". BBC News. 29 January 2011.
  13. ↑ "Billy Twelvetrees to make England debut v Scotland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  14. ↑ "Twelvetrees joins Lions squad". planetrugby.com. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  15. ↑ "Billy Twelvetrees". 7 July 2019.
  16. ↑ "Six Nations: England 38–18 Scotland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  17. ↑ Mike Henson. "Argentina 3–32 England: Tourists brush Pumas aside in first Test". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  18. ↑ "England beat Argentina at home ahead of All Blacks test". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.