 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth name | Daniel Jonathan Grewcock | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 7 November 1972 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Coventry, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 119 kg (18 st 10 lb) [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Eastern Green Woodlands | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | Manchester Met. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Daniel Jonathan Grewcock MBE (born 7 November 1972) is an English former rugby union player who played as a lock. He played for Coventry, Saracens and Bath. He won 69 caps for England and five for the British & Irish Lions.
Grewcock was born in Coventry and attended Templars Primary School in Tile Hill then the secondary in Eastern Green Woodlands School, Coventry, leaving school in 1989. His rugby career started with Barkers Butts and Coventry and he played for the Warwickshire U21 side at age 19.
He is a graduate of Manchester Metropolitan University. [2]
In 1996–97 he moved into the professional ranks with Coventry. It was Coventry's most successful period of the modern era, coming within touching distance of the Premiership. Along the way, with Grewcock an ever-present, they beat a Newcastle Falcons side featuring 15 internationals by 19-18 [3] at Coundon Road. They eventually finished third to Newcastle and champions Richmond, and lost a promotion play-off against London Irish despite taking a narrow first leg advantage to Sunbury. Despite their second-tier status, both Grewcock and teammate Rob Hardwick were capped by England in this era.
Grewcock's first cap for England came in the 1997 tour to Argentina, scoring his first international try in the test in Buenos Aires. He was sent off during England's 1998 trip to New Zealand, after kicking an All Blacks' player in the head. He joined Saracens later that summer but switched to Bath for the 2001–02 season.
He played in all three Test matches for the British & Irish Lions against Australia and in six of the ten tour matches overall.
He was only able to make one appearance during the 2003 World Cup after a toe injury, and breaking a hand in England's match against Uruguay. He was replaced in the squad by Simon Shaw. He received a World Cup winner's medal in December 2004.
Grewcock returned to domestic rugby with Bath and produced some outstanding rugby, which led to his international recall as the successor for Martin Johnson in the Six Nations. He started in all three Autumn 2004 tests.
He was selected for the 2005 Lions tour to New Zealand. He was suspended for two months after being found guilty of biting New Zealand hooker Keven Mealamu during the first Test on 25 June.
Grewcock continued to play for England in the Six Nations Championship, where he received a yellow card against Ireland. He received a suspension that ruled him out of the 2007 World Cup. Grewcock signed a one-year extension to his Bath contract, which kept him there until the end of the 2010–11 season.
Danny retired in 2011 and took up a role with the Bath Academy, before working as Director of Sports at Oundle School.
In September 2019 joined Bristol Bears Academy in a dual role with Clifton College as High Performance Rugby Manager. He works alongside Matt Salter to develop the 1st & 2nd XV and 7s teams, working with Clifton College's high performing rugby players to help nurture their talent and to give them the best opportunity to move into a professional rugby environment at Bristol Bears. [4]
He earned a five-week ban for a kicking offence after being sent off in 1998 at Carisbrook and six years later he received a six-week suspension after being found guilty of reckless use of his boot on Daniel Carter. When he returned in 2005 with the Lions, Grewcock was banned for two months for biting Keven Mealamu's finger. The suggestion that Mealamu had been in the process of hooking Grewcock's mouth was not proven, but the length of suspension given to Grewcock was way below that usually given to a player found guilty of biting. He also kicked Wales scrum half Dwayne Peel in the face during Wales' 11–9 victory over England in 2005, for which he received a yellow card and a slap in the face from Alfie.
On 8 September 2002 he was sent-off following a clash with his one-time flatmate Kyran Bracken in Bath's 28–3 Zurich Premiership defeat to Saracens. [5] Grewcock was initially banned for five-weeks after being found guilty of reckless use of his boot. [6] Bath appealed against the ban; [7] with Bracken's support and new photographic evidence of the incident, [8] the appeal was successful and Grewcock's ban quashed. [9] In March 2003, he was cited by the RFU of two counts of striking another player during Bath's 27–10 Premiership defeat to Northampton Saints on 15 March 2003. [10] Grewcock was found not guilty of both striking charges but the unsporting behaviour complaint, where he was accused of ripping up the scrum-cap of Northampton lock Mark Connors, was upheld and a fine of £500 issued. [8] An eventful season culminated with the receipt of a red card for punching Lawrence Dallaglio, in Bath's 30–48 European Challenge Cup final defeat to London Wasps on 25 May 2003. [11] A post-match disciplinary hearing saw Grewcock suspended for 14 days, with the suspension commencing on 1 June 2003 and consequently ruling him out of the New Zealand leg of England's summer tour of the Southern Hemisphere. [12] Consequently, having originally been named in the original 37-man squad, he was replaced by Tom Palmer. [13]
Following a citing, [14] Grewcock pleaded guilty to stamping on Nathan Bonner-Evans in Bath's 18–16 home Guinness Premiership victory over Sale Sharks on 22 December 2006. He received a one-week suspension for the offence. [15] The same season saw him cited a second time, this time for a punch on Thibault Privat in Bath's 22–16 defeat by Clermont Auvergne in the European Challenge Cup final on 19 May 2007. [16] He was found guilty and suspended for the period 8 June – 15 September 2007 which, taking into account the close season of inactivity, meant that he was suspended from playing rugby for a period of seven weeks, the start of his season being judged to be 4 August 2007. [17] He lodged an appeal against the ban [18] but was unsuccessful. [19]
After remaining trouble-free for over two years, he was cited for striking Neil de Kock in Bath's home Guinness Premiership 11–12 defeat to Saracens on 31 October 2009. [20] He pleaded guilty to the charge and received a two-week suspension. [21] [22] On 23 January 2010, Grewcock received his third red card in Bath's colours when he stamped on the forearm of Ulster's Stephen Ferris in the club's 10–28 home Heineken Cup defeat; [23] the dismissal saw him receive a seven-week suspension. [24] [25]
Grewcock was awarded an MBE in the Queen's 2003 New Year's Honours list, along with other players from Bath – Iain Balshaw, Mike Catt and Mike Tindall – who were in England's World Cup squad.
He is a supporter of Coventry City FC.
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 union system.
Saracens Rugby Club are an English professional rugby union club based in North London, England, currently playing in Premiership Rugby, which is the highest level of competition in English rugby.
Wasps Rugby Football Club was a professional rugby union team. They last played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby, until being suspended on 12 October 2022. On 17 October 2022, the club entered administration, resulting in relegation from the league and all staff being made redundant. They exited administration on 16 December 2022.
Bristol Bears are a professional rugby union club based in Bristol, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
Gavin Lloyd Henson is a Welsh former professional rugby union player, who played as a fly-half, fullback and inside centre.
Charles Christopher Hodgson is a retired English rugby union player, having previously been a player for Sale Sharks and Saracens. His position was fly-half and he is the leading Premiership points scorer of all time. Hodgson also played for England, until announcing his international retirement in 2012. Hodgson made 18 consecutive starts at fly half for England between 2004 and 2006.
Coventry Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union club based in Coventry, England. The club enjoyed great success during the 1960s and 70s, with many players representing their countries. Coventry's home ground is the Butts Park Arena, which opened in 2004. Between 1921 and 2004, the club played at Coundon Road. The club plays in the RFU Championship following their promotion from the 2017–18 National League 1.
Simon Dalton Shaw MBE is a former English rugby union player who played as a lock. He played for Bristol, London Wasps and Toulon. He won 71 caps for England between 1996 and 2011, and 2 for the British & Irish Lions, with whom he toured 3 times.
Stephen William Borthwick is an English rugby union coach and former player, who is currently the head coach of the England national team. As a player, he played as a lock for Bath and Saracens. At international level, he played for England 57 times from his debut in 2001; he served as captain from 2008 until he was dropped from the side in 2010.
Christopher John Ashton is a retired English rugby union and former rugby league footballer, and one of the few players who have represented England in both rugby codes. Ashton primarily played wing and secondarily played fullback.
Rugby union in England is one of the leading professional and recreational team sports. In 1871 the Rugby Football Union, the governing body for rugby union in England, was formed by 21 rugby clubs, and the first international match, which involved England, was played in Scotland. The England national team compete annually in the Six Nations Championship, and are former world champions after winning the 2003 Rugby World Cup. The top domestic men's club competition is Premiership Rugby, and English clubs also compete in international competitions such as the European Rugby Champions Cup. The top domestic women's competition is the Premier 15s.
Dylan Hartley is a former rugby union player who represented England and Northampton Saints.
Richard Eric Peter Wigglesworth is an English rugby union coach and former professional player. He is the record appearance maker for Premiership Rugby, he played for Sale Sharks, Saracens and Leicester Tigers. He has won Seven Premiership titles, one with Sale, five with Saracens, and one with Leicester as well as three European Rugby Champions Cups with Saracens. Between 2008 and 2018 he won 33 caps for England. In his career he has played over 400 club games.
David George Wilson is a former English rugby union player. A tighthead prop, he played for Newcastle Falcons and Bath and represented England at two World Cups.
Benjamin Ryder Youngs is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for Premiership Rugby club Leicester Tigers, and is the all time appearance record holder with 127 caps for the England national team.
Tom Wood is a former English rugby union player for Northampton Saints in the Aviva Premiership.
Joe Simpson is a rugby union player who plays scrum half who plays for Sale Sharks in the Premiership Rugby. He most recently played for Gloucester, between 2006 and 2019 he played 230 times for Wasps, in 2011 he played one international for England and was named in the 2011 Rugby World Cup squad. He has also represented Team GB in rugby sevens.
Michael Kenworthy Rhodes is a rugby union footballer who formerly played for English Premiership side Saracens. He played as a flanker, but had been occasionally used as a lock.
Sara Louise Cox is an English rugby union referee and former rugby union footballer. In 2016, she became the world's first professional female rugby union referee, and in 2018 she became the first woman to referee a Premiership Rugby Cup match. On 25 September 2021, she became the first woman to referee a Premiership Rugby Union Match when she took centre field for a fixture between Harlequins and Worcester Warriors at the Stoop.
The 2022–23 Premiership Rugby was the 36th season of the top flight of English domestic rugby union competition and the fifth to be sponsored by Gallagher. The competition was broadcast by BT Sport for the tenth successive season, with six league season games and the final also simulcast free-to-air by ITV. Highlights of each weekend's games were shown on ITV with extended highlights on BT Sport. This was the final season to be aired on BT Sport before its rebrand to TNT Sports in July 2023.