Iain Balshaw

Last updated

Iain Balshaw
MBE
Mike Tindall Webb Ellis.JPG
Balshaw (right) with Mike Tindall and the Rugby World Cup trophy
Birth nameIain Robert Balshaw
Date of birth (1979-04-18) 18 April 1979 (age 44)
Place of birth Blackburn, England
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight14 st 11 lb (94 kg)
School Stonyhurst College
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fullback/Wing
Youth career
- Preston Grasshoppers
Senior career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1997–2004
2004–2006
2006–2009
2009–2014		 Bath
Leeds
Gloucester
Biarritz 		127
26
39
69		 (255)
(25)
(70)
(50)
Correct as of 30 June 2014
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2000–2008
2001 		England
British & Irish Lions 		35
3		 (65)
(0)
Correct as of 30 June 2014

Iain Robert Balshaw, MBE (born 18 April 1979) is an English former rugby union player who played on the wing or at full back for Bath, Leeds Carnegie, Gloucester and Biarritz Olympique. He won 35 international caps for England between 2000 and 2008, and three for the British & Irish Lions in 2001. He was a member of the England squad that won the 2003 Rugby World Cup.

Contents

Early life

Born 18 April 1979 in Blackburn, England, [1] Balshaw was educated at the Jesuit Stonyhurst College in Lancashire. [2]

Club career

Bath

At junior level he played for Preston Grasshoppers and joined Bath as a teenager in 1997. He made his senior debut in 1998, scoring thirteen tries in his first season.

Leeds Carnegie

After Balshaw's move to Leeds in July 2004, his game at club level flourished. Balshaw was out of action for the beginning of the season with a groin injury, but after three months of work with the Leeds medical staff he was back to fitness. He made his debut off the bench in the Tykes first home win of the season against Worcester Warriors. Balshaw's first start came away against Grenoble in the European Challenge Cup and he has featured in the starting line up for the Tykes subsequent games. After a run of five impressive starts Balshaw was rewarded with the captaincy for the Powergen Cup semi-final game against London Irish, and this performance saw him gain a recall to the England squad. He started the final itself, but he limped off injured early on in the game as his teammates went on to win the trophy. [3]

Gloucester Rugby

Following Leeds Carnegie's relegation from the Guinness Premiership, in April 2006 Balshaw joined Gloucester Rugby. He made his debut against his old club Bath after making 106 Premiership appearances for Bath and Leeds scoring 38 tries.

Biarritz Olympique

Balshaw moved to Biarritz Olympique in 2009, as part of a large exodus of English players to the French Top 14. [4]

On 11 July 2014, Balshaw announced his retirement from rugby with immediate effect after failing to recover from his knee injuries. [5]

International career

Balshaw was picked on the replacements’ bench for every one of Englands internationals in 2000. He won his first cap for England in 2000 at the inaugural Six Nations Championship match against Ireland, coming on as a substitute. In November 2000, he came on late in the England-Australia autumn International at Twickenham to give Dan Luger a last minute winning try.

In the following 2001 Six Nations he finally made the starting line-up for England at full back and stunned the Welsh in the opening game at the Millennium Stadium; England winning 44–15. He toured Australia with the British & Irish Lions in June 2001, winning three test caps as a replacement.

The 2002/2003 season saw him as a member of the England squad for the tour of New Zealand and Australia, before joining the party for Churchill Cup matches in North America. He scored two tries in a 'non-cap' international against Japan in Tokyo in June 2002, having recovered from shoulder surgery that restricted him to nine games in the previous eleven months for Bath. Problems with injury meant that his subsequent international appearances were few, despite criticism Clive Woodward retained faith in his ability and selected him in the 2003 World Cup squad.

Balshaw played in the warm-up match against France in Marseille and impressed in England's World Cup game against Samoa, when he caught a diagonal kick from Jonny Wilkinson to score a crucial try in the 70th minute. He was one of 19 England players who played during the final win over Australia in Sydney, coming on as a replacement in extra time.

In the 2005 Lions tour of New Zealand he was selected ahead of Kevin Morgan and Mark Cueto, but later ruled out with a torn thigh muscle. Balshaw was selected for England in both Tests in Australia in June 2006.

He was also chosen in the first two Autumn Internationals in 2006. He played against New Zealand and then against Argentina where he scored an individual try.

He was England's first choice Fullback during the 2008 Six Nations Championship but received a lot of criticism from rugby pundits including George Hook. When Martin Johnson announced his first England squads in July 2008 following his appointment as manager, Balshaw was omitted from both the Elite and Saxon selections.

Personal life

Balshaw is married to Kate and they have three children. Balshaw was involved with www.rugbypigs.com, a rugby fanzine website.

Honours

Amlin Trophy Championship Winner 2012

Related Research Articles

Timothy Richard George Stimpson is a former rugby union international full back. During his career he played for Wakefield, West Hartlepool, Newcastle Falcons, Leicester Tigers, Perpignan, Leeds Tykes and Nottingham, England and the British and Irish Lions. His international career was a start-stop affair, however, he excelled at club level. In particular, during his five-year spell at Leicester Tigers between 1998 and 2003, as a goalkicker, he was an integral part of the dominant Leicester side that won the league four times in succession to add to back-to-back Heineken Cup, becoming the Premiership's top points scorer in the process.

Gordon Ross is a Scottish rugby union footballer who played as a fly-half. He earned 25 caps for Scotland.

Mark Regan MBE is an English former rugby union player. Nicknamed 'Ronnie', he played as a hooker for Bristol, Bath, Leeds Tykes as well as England and the British and Irish Lions.

James David Simpson-Daniel is a former English rugby union footballer who played wing or centre for Gloucester Rugby.

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

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.

Andrew James Titterrell is a former rugby union player who played at hooker and previously for England.

Jonathan Edward Brooks Callard is a coach at the Rugby Football Union's National Academy. He formerly played rugby union at fullback for Bath and England. He is the brother of ex-Newport RFC player Nigel Callard.

Diego Luis Albanese is an Argentine retired rugby union player who played as a winger. He played for the San Isidro Club in Argentina, French side Grenoble, Gloucester and Leeds Tykes. Albanese made 17 appearances for Gloucester scoring three tries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Palmer (rugby union)</span> England international rugby union player

Tom Palmer is a former English rugby union player. His position is a lock

Philip Derek Christophers is a former rugby union footballer, who played on the wing for Castres and, briefly, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny Care</span> Rugby player

Daniel Stuart Care is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for Premiership Rugby club Harlequins and the England national team.

John Kelly is a retired Irish rugby union footballer. He played for Munster in the Celtic League and the Heineken Cup, and played for Cork Constitution in the All Ireland League (AIL).

Gavin Kerr is a retired rugby union footballer who played prop on either side of the scrum. He played club rugby for Leeds Tykes, the defunct Border Reivers, Edinburgh and Sale Sharks, and at international level for Scotland. During his time at Leeds, he helped them win the 2004–05 Powergen Cup, the final of which he started.

Andries Hendrik Snyman is a South African rugby union former player and current coach. His usual position was outside centre, but he had success on the wing at international level. Snyman earned 38 test caps for the South Africa national rugby union team, before retiring from playing in 2007. Snyman has been coaching rugby in the United States since 2011.

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

Tom Biggs is an English former rugby union footballer who most recently played for Worcester Warriors. His usual position was at wing. Biggs featured in the Zurich Premiership, Powergen Cup and European Cup. He has a twin brother.

Mike Shelley is a former rugby union player who became the longest serving player in the history of Leeds Tykes rugby club, having joined them in 1996 from West Hartlepool. He made his Tykes debut against Otley RUFC on 31 August 1996.

Jonathon Peter Andrew Dunbar is a former rugby union international for Scotland. His usual position was at flanker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leeds Tykes</span> English rugby union football club

Leeds Tykes is an English rugby union club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the National League 2 North.

<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.

References

  1. ↑ Iain Balshaw player profile ESPN Scrum.com
  2. ↑ Ashton renews Balshaw bond BBC Sport, 29 January 2008
  3. ↑ "Bath 12–20 Leeds". BBC. 16 April 2005. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  4. ↑ "Iain Balshaw Profile". Itsrugby.co.uk. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  5. ↑ "Former England full-back Iain Balshaw retirement". BBC Sport. 11 July 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.