David Bickle

Last updated
David Bickle
Full nameDavid John Bickle
Date of birth (1970-08-21) 21 August 1970 (age 53)
Place of birth Edinburgh, Scotland
Height6 ft 8 in (203 cm)
University Durham University
University of Birmingham
Cambridge University
Occupation(s)Chartered accountant
Rugby union career
Position(s) Lock
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1996 Japan 6 (5)

David John Bickle OBE (born 21 August 1970) is a British chartered accountant and former rugby union player. [1]

Contents

Biography

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Bickle was a 6 ft 8 in lock forward who played his early rugby in England, appearing for Wasps, Moseley and Cambridge University. [2] He won a Cambridge blue in the 1992 Varsity Match and after completing his degree moved to Japan to work and play rugby for Kobe Steel. [3] [4] In 1996, Bickle was capped six times by the Japan national team. He continued competing with Kobe Steel until 1999. [5]

Bickle served as president of the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan from 2014 to 2022. [6] He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours for services to UK/Japan relations. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japan national rugby union team</span> Rugby union team

The Japan national rugby union team, often a.k.a “Cherry Blossoms”, or a.k.a “Sakura”, and more a.k.a “The Brave Blossoms” is traditionally the strongest rugby union power in Asia and has enjoyed and endured mixed results against non-Asian teams over the years. Rugby union in Japan is administered by the Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU), which was founded in 1926. They compete annually in the Pacific Nations Cup and previously in the Asia Rugby Championship. They have also participated in every Rugby World Cup since the tournament began in 1987.

The Japan Rugby Football Union is the governing body for rugby union in Japan. It was formed 30 November 1926, and organises matches for the Japan national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vissel Kobe</span> Japanese association football club

Vissel Kobe is a Japanese professional football club based in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The team's home stadium is Noevir Stadium Kobe, in Hyōgo-ku, though some home matches are played at Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium in Suma-ku.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gavin Hastings</span> British Lions & Scotland international rugby union player

Andrew Gavin Hastings, is a Scottish former rugby union player. A fullback, he is widely regarded to be one of the best ever Scottish rugby players and was one of the outstanding players of his generation, winning 61 caps for Scotland, 20 of which as captain. He played for Watsonians, London Scottish, Cambridge University, Scotland and the British Lions. He twice toured with the Lions, to Australia in 1989 and as captain on the 1993 tour to New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Beaumont</span> Rugby player

Sir William Blackledge Beaumont is a former rugby union player, and was captain of the England rugby union team, earning 34 caps. His greatest moment as captain was the unexpected 1980 Grand Slam win. He played as a lock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kobelco Kobe Steelers</span> Japanese rugby union team

The Kobelco Kobe Steelers are a Japanese rugby union team owned by Kobe Steel, and based in Kobe. They were the first ever Top League champions when the League started in the 2003-2004 season. The team rebranded as Kobelco Kobe Steelers ahead of the rebranding of the Top League to the Japan Rugby League One in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Blair</span> British Lions & Scotland international rugby union player

Michael Robert Leighton Blair is a Scottish rugby union coach who was formerly a professional player and the most capped Scottish scrum half in history. He is currently assistant coach of the Kobe Steelers. He was previously the head coach of Edinburgh, and also was an assistant coach with Glasgow Warriors and then an assistant coach of the Scottish national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shaun Edwards</span> English rugby league footballer and rugby union coach

Shaun Edwards, OBE is an English rugby union coach and former rugby league player, who is the defence coach for the France national team. A scrum-half or stand-off, Edwards is the most decorated player in rugby league history, with 37 winner's medals. In 2015 he was the 25th person inducted into the Rugby League Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Varsity Match</span> Annual rugby union fixture

The Varsity Match is an annual rugby union fixture played between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England. The event began in 1872 with the first men's match, with interruptions only for the two World Wars and the COVID-19 pandemic. From 1921 to 2023 the game was played at Twickenham Stadium, London and usually took place in early December. The game is now played in March and will take place at StoneX Stadium in 2024.

Augustus Beverley Walter Risman was an English rugby union and rugby league player and rugby league coach. A dual-code international, he played rugby union for England and the British Lions, and rugby league for Great Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rugby union in Japan</span>

Rugby union in Japan is a moderately popular sport. Japan has the fourth largest population of rugby union players in the world and the sport has been played there for over a century. There are 125,000 Japanese rugby players, 3,631 official rugby clubs, and the Japan national team is ranked 12th in the world.

Kensuke "Kenny" Iwabuchi is a Japanese rugby player and coach. He plays at stand off, and has 20 caps for the Japan national rugby union team. He also captained the Japan sevens team in the third sevens World Cup and was the first Japanese player to play professional rugby in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toshiyuki Hayashi</span> Rugby player

Toshiyuki Hayashi, is a former Japanese rugby union player. He played as a prop and as a lock. He was educated at Tokushima Prefectural Johoku High School and was graduated in economics at Doshisha University. He was nicknamed Destroyer and Daimaru.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brodie Retallick</span> NZ international rugby union player

Brodie Allan Retallick is a New Zealand rugby union footballer, who currently plays as a lock for Kobelco Kobe Steelers in the Japan Rugby League One competition. He previously played for the Chiefs in Super Rugby and Hawke's Bay in New Zealand's domestic National Provincial Championship.

Gerard Cowley-Tuioti is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a lock for Kobelco Kobe Steelers in Japan Rugby League One. He formerly played for North Harbour in New Zealand's domestic Mitre 10 Cup and the Blues in the international Super Rugby competition.

Matthew David Poole is a former rugby union lock who played 223 games for Leicester Tigers from 1988 to 1998, he also toured twice with England but did not play in a test match.

Bruce Ferguson is a former Fijian-born Japanese rugby union player. He played as a lock.

Atsushi Oyagi is a former rugby union player who played as lock, rugby commentator, tarento, educator and school corporate president. He is 190 cm tall. He is affiliated to Shochiku Geino.

Mitsutake Hagimoto is a former Japanese rugby player and coach. He played as scrum-half.

Lui Naeata is a Japanese rugby union player, who most recently played as a flanker for Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi in the Japan Rugby League One competition.

References

  1. ↑ Thomas, Beatrice (13 June 2015). "David Bickle: 'Never be afraid to ask (people) questions'". The Japan Times .
  2. ↑ "Coventry forced to blood Masterson". The Birmingham Post . 14 February 1992.
  3. ↑ "Olympians and Internationals" (PDF). Hawks' Club. October 2017. p. 12. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  4. ↑ "Oxford Blue For Moseley Lock". Black Country Evening Mail. 1 December 1992.
  5. ↑ Wortley, Kathryn (16 September 2023). "Rugby turns 200: A history of the sport in Japan". The Japan Times.
  6. ↑ "Reflections of Former BCCJ President David Bickle". British Chamber of Commerce in Japan. 15 December 2022.
  7. ↑ "David Bickle". www.thegazette.co.uk.
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.