Phil Christophers

Last updated

Phil Christophers
Birth namePhilip Derek Christophers
Date of birth (1980-06-16) 16 June 1980 (age 44)
Place of birth Heidelberg, Germany
Height180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight94 kg (207 lb)
School Lancaster Royal Grammar School
University Loughborough University
Rugby union career
Position(s) Wing
Current team retired
Amateur team(s)
YearsTeamApps(Points)
RG Heidelberg ()
– Loughborough Students RUFC ()
Senior career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2000 CA Brive 28 (45)
2001-2003 Bristol Shoguns 52 (55)
2003-2005 Leeds Tykes ()
2005-2010 Castres Olympique ()
2012-2013 Aix en Provence ()
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2002-2003 England 3 (5)

Philip Derek Christophers (born 16 June 1980 in Heidelberg) is a former rugby union footballer, who played on the wing for Castres and, briefly, England.

Contents

Christophers was born and raised in Germany with an English father and a German mother. At 16 he moved to England to attend the sixth form at Lancaster Royal Grammar School, where he represented England at under-16 and under-18 level, and sat next to Anthony in his form class and next to Andy in maths. He studied Geography at Loughborough University, for whom he played in a BUSA final. In 2000, he took a year out of his studies playing for Brive and represented England under-21s. On graduation, in 2001, he signed full-time with Bristol Shoguns.

During the 2002/03, season Christophers was a regular for Bristol Shoguns and a bit-part player for England. However, when Bristol Shoguns were relegated at end of that season, he signed for Leeds Tykes.

Christophers scored a try on his England debut against Argentina. [1] In his third and final appearance for England, he came on as a replacement in the 2003 Six Nations Championship match against Wales. However just after coming on he was sin-binned. [2] England went on to win the Grand Slam. [3]

During the 2003/04 season at Leeds, he was named both the Players Player of the Year and Supporters Player of the Year. He toured New Zealand and Australia with England, but did not play.

At the end of the 2004-05 season, Leeds won the Powergen Cup where he was a starter. [4]

At the end of the 2004/05 season, he decided to join Castres Olympiques in the Top 14 in France. He played for Castres from 2005-10. Without a club from July 2010 until the end of June 2011, he played two years for Aix en Provence in the Pro D2 before ending his professional career in the summer of 2013.

Honours

Related Research Articles

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

Jonathan Peter Wilkinson, is an English former rugby union player. A fly-half, he played for Newcastle Falcons and French side Toulon and represented England and the British & Irish Lions. He is particularly known for scoring the winning drop goal in the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final and is widely acknowledged as one of the best rugby union players of all time.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iain Balshaw</span> British Lions & England international rugby union footballer

Iain Robert Balshaw, MBE 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.

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

Andrew Charles Thomas Gomarsall MBE is a former rugby union player who played at scrum-half for Leeds Carnegie and England.

<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.

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">Jordan Crane (rugby union)</span> England international rugby union player

Jordan Stephen Crane is a former professional rugby union player, who recently played for Bristol Bears in the Premiership Rugby. Crane has also played internationally for England.

Alix Jon Popham is a Welsh former rugby union player who played as a number eight or flanker. Born in Newport, he began his career with Newport RFC in 1998, before moving to Leeds Tykes in 2002. He spent three years in England before returning to Wales with the Llanelli Scarlets in 2005. In 2008, he moved to France to play for Brive and was made captain ahead of the 2009–10 season. He retired due to injury at the end of the 2010–11 season, having made over 320 appearances in 13 years as a professional. He also played internationally for the Wales national team, earning 33 caps.

<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.

Scott Morgan is a Welsh former international rugby union player who played as a lock or flanker.

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

Stuart Hooper is a former rugby union player and then director of rugby at Bath Rugby. He last played for Bath Rugby in the Aviva Premiership in April 2016.

Chris Fortey is a retired English rugby union player for Worcester Warriors in the Aviva Premiership. He previously played for Gloucester. Whilst at Gloucester he was a replacement in both the 2002 Zurich Championship Final in which Gloucester defeated Bristol Shoguns, and the 2003 Powergen Cup Final in which Gloucester defeated Northampton Saints.

Martin Haag was an English rugby union player who principally played for Bath Rugby and was capped twice by England. In March 2016 he was appointed head coach of the Rugby Football Union's Under 20s team.

<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">Henry Thomas (rugby union)</span> Professional international rugby union player

Henry Thomas is a professional rugby union player who plays as a prop for United Rugby Championship club Scarlets. At international level Thomas has played for both England and Wales; first making his debut for England in 2013, before representing Wales in 2023.

William St Lawrence Webb Collier is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a tighthead prop for Top 14 club Castres Olympique.

References

  1. ↑ "Argentina beaten by England youngsters". BBC Sport. BBC. 22 June 2002. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  2. ↑ "England ease past battling Welsh". BBC. 22 February 2003. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  3. ↑ "Awesome England clinch Grand Slam". BBC. 30 March 2003. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  4. ↑ "Bath 12-20 Leeds". BBC. 16 April 2005. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
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.