Birth name | Robert Graham Thirlby | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | 2 March 1979 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Redruth, Cornwall England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 91.6 kg (14 st 6 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Richard Lander School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notable relative(s) | Chris Garland (father-in-law) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spouse | Jess Thirlby | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Rob Graham Thirlby (born 2 March 1979) is an English rugby union player who plays on the wing or full back for Yatton whilst also acting as the video analyst for Gloucester Rugby. [1] He previously played for Moseley, Penzance-Newlyn, and for Redruth whom he joined from Gloucester Rugby. He played regularly for the England Sevens team.
Thirlby was born in Penzance, Cornwall, England, and educated at Richard Lander School.
Thirlby began his career with Redruth before guesting for Penzance & Newlyn in the 1998 Safari Sevens tournament in Kenya where he was spotted by Kyran Bracken [2] who recommended him to Saracens and Thirlby joined the club ahead of the 1998–1999 season. He made his Sarries debut in an Anglo-Welsh clash with Cardiff on 16 January 1999, kicking 11 points in a 36–22 victory. [3] He made his Premiership debut against Northampton Saints on 6 February 1999 and went on to make 28 appearances for the club in the competition, scoring six tries.
Thirlby left Saracens to join Bath Rugby in May 2000. [4] [5] [6] He played 36 times for Bath in the Premiership scoring eight tries, the highlight being the hat-trick of tries he scored against Rotherham on 14 April 2001, [7] before joining Rotherham in February 2003. [8] He helped the club secure promotion from National Division One back into the Premiership before returning to Cornwall and Penzance & Newlyn for the 2003–2004 season.
After two seasons with Penzance & Newlyn, Thirlby returned to the Premiership by signing a two-year contract with Gloucester Rugby. [9] After just ten Premiership appearances and a solitary try, Thirlby joined Redruth on loan in January 2007, agreeing a two-year contract with the club in March 2007.
Thirlby was a regular member of the England Sevens team. He represented the team in both the RWC Sevens 2001 and RWC Sevens 2005, the only England player to do so, [10] and was a member of Joe Lydon's twelve-man squad for the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. [11] Although the team returned without medals, they did win the Sevens Plate in the tournament. [12] He made 35 appearances in the IRB Sevens World Series, at the time the third-highest total by an England player, which has since been surpassed several times. [13]
Thirlby received a call up for England's 2000 tour of South Africa, [14] and although he did not appear in the test side, he played in the three tour matches, scoring a try in the 36–27 victory over Gauteng Falcons. [15]
Thirlby is married to Jess Garland, a former England netball international. In 2019 she was appointed head coach of the England national netball team. Like her future husband, Garland also represented England at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. They have two children. Thirlby also has a child from a previous relationship. His father-in-law was Chris Garland, a professional footballer. [16]
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 is an English professional rugby union club based in North London, England, currently playing in Premiership Rugby, 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.
Philip John Vickery MBE DL is a former English rugby union tighthead prop and member of the England squad. He was a member of England's World Cup winning squad in 2003, playing in all seven matches in the tournament, and is a former England captain. Vickery ended his club rugby career at London Wasps, joining the London side in 2006 after eleven years with Gloucester Rugby. Given the nickname "Raging Bull", he played in three Rugby World Cups, including as England captain in the 2007 tournament, and toured Australia and South Africa with the British & Irish Lions. Made his debut for Bolingey Barbarians Sunday 25th Sept 2022 vs Bude vets.
Daniel Jonathan Grewcock MBE 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.
The 2004–05 National Division One was the 18th full season of rugby union within the second tier of the English league system, currently known as the RFU Championship. New teams to the division included Rotherham Titans who were demoted from the 2003–04 Zurich Premiership while Sedgley Park and Nottingham were promoted from the 2003–04 National Division Two. Rotherham almost went into liquidation and dropped out of the leagues following their relegation from the Premiership but were saved by a local consortium which enabled them to continue playing in National One. As well as new teams Coventry had a new ground, moving from Coundon Road to the smaller but more modern Butts Park Arena.
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.
Rugby union in Cornwall is Cornwall's most popular spectator sport with a large following. The followers of the national side are dubbed Trelawny's Army. In 1991 and 1999 Cornwall won the County Championship final played at Twickenham Stadium, beating Yorkshire and Gloucestershire respectively to win the Cup. They had another strong spell in the 2010s, reaching seven of the eight finals contested between 2013 and 2022, winning four of them.
The Cornish Pirates are a professional rugby union team who play in the Championship, the second level of the English rugby union pyramid, and are the premier Cornish rugby club. Formerly known as Penzance & Newlyn RFU, the Cornish Pirates play and train at their home ground, the Mennaye Field in Penzance.
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.
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 and 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.
The 2000–01 English Premiership was the 14th season of the top flight of the English domestic rugby union competitions. Leicester Tigers finished top of the league for the third year in a row giving them their fifth English champions title.
Oliver Jonathan Devoto is an English rugby union player, who plays for Exeter Chiefs as a utility back primarily as a centre and fly-half.
Nat Saumi, real name Nacenieli, is a retired Fijian rugby union player who is currently a coach. A versatile back, Nat could play at fly-half, centre or full back. Despite having offers to play Premiership rugby, Nat spent his career in England playing for south-west clubs, most notably with Penzance & Newlyn and Plymouth, whom he also coached. An outstanding points scorer both in terms of kicking and tries, Nat became one of the most prolific points scorers of all-time in National League 2 South with over 700 points, including a divisional record of 374 points in a season, achieved in 2001 while playing for Penzance-Newlyn. As well as playing club rugby, Nat has also represented Fiji Sevens, Barbarians and Cornwall with whom he won the Bill Beaumont Cup back in 1999.
Jessica Thirlby is a former England netball international and the current head coach of the England national netball team. As a player, she was a member of the Team Bath squad that won the inaugural 2005–06 Netball Superleague title. She also represented England at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. As a head coach, she guided Team Bath to further Netball Superleague titles in 2008–09, 2009–10 and 2013. In July 2019, Thirlby was appointed head coach of the senior England national netball team.