Date of birth | 2 February 1972 | ||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Place of birth | Vancouver, BC, Canada | ||||||||||||||||
Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||||||||||||||||
Weight | 222 lb (101 kg) | ||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||
|
Ryan Banks (born February 2, 1972) is a Canadian former rugby union international.
Banks, born in Vancouver, British Columbia, is a product of Abbotsford Senior Secondary School. He was a football linebacker on the Simon Fraser University team, before concentrating on rugby. [1]
A back-row forward, Banks played for Burnaby Lake and earned 36 caps for Canada from 1999 to 2003, representing them in two editions of the Rugby World Cup. He played professionally for Bedford in the 1999–2000 Premiership Rugby season. [2] In 2003, Banks filled in as captain for a World Cup match against the All Blacks. [3]
Banks married rugby player Heather Wilson, who is also a two-time Canadian World Cup representative. [4]
The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World champions of the sport.
The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for their international success, the All Blacks have often been regarded as one of the most successful sports teams in history.
Jonah Tali Lomu was a New Zealand professional rugby union player. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential players in the history of the sport, and as one of the most talented sportsmen ever. Lomu is considered to have been the first true global superstar of rugby, and consequently had a huge impact on the game.
Martin Osborne Johnson CBE is an English retired rugby union player who represented and captained England and Leicester in a career spanning 16 seasons. He captained England to victory in the 2003 Rugby World Cup, and is regarded as one of the greatest locks ever to have played, and one of England's greatest ever players.
Sir Clive Ronald Woodward is an English former rugby union player and coach. He was coach of the England team from 1997 to 2004, managing them to victory in the 2003 Rugby World Cup. He also coached the 2005 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand, losing the test series 3–0. He is currently a pundit for ITV Sport, working on their coverage of the Six Nations and Rugby World Cup.
The Tonga national rugby union team represents the Tonga Rugby Union in men's international rugby union. The team is nicknamed ʻIkale Tahi . Like their Polynesian neighbours, the Tongans start their matches with a traditional challenge – the Sipi Tau. They are members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) along with Fiji and Samoa. The Ikale Tahi achieved a historic 19–14 victory over France in the 2011 Rugby World Cup, but having lost to New Zealand and Canada, were unable to achieve what would have been their first-ever presence at the quarter-finals.
Anthony Charles 'Budge' Pountney is a rugby union coach and retired player. A flanker, he played in the Northampton Saints side that won the 1999–2000 Heineken Cup.
Sir Michael Niko Jones is a New Zealand former rugby union player and coach.
Joshua Adrian Kronfeld is a TV presenter and a former rugby union footballer who represented New Zealand at international level and Otago, the Highlanders and Leicester at first-class level. During his international career, Kronfeld played in 56 games for the All Blacks, gaining 54 test caps, including appearances at both the 1995 and 1999 Rugby World Cups.
Bedford Blues are a semi-professional rugby union club in the town of Bedford, England, currently playing in the RFU Championship.
Craig Minto Chalmers is a former Scotland international rugby union player and coach. He represented Scotland, the British Lions and the Barbarians at international level. He made 60 international appearances as a player for the Scotland national team and scored 166 points. He played at fly-half with his playing career beginning at Melrose in the amateur era and with the professional era seeing him play Border Reivers and Glasgow Warriors before moving on to English sides Harlequins, Worcester Warriors and Pertemp Bees. He had coaching roles with Melrose and the Scotland national under-20 rugby union team. He later has had a business career in security.
Daniel William Carter is a New Zealand retired rugby union player. Carter played for the Crusaders in Super Rugby and for New Zealand's national team, the All Blacks. He is the highest point scorer in test match rugby, and is considered by many experts as the greatest ever first five-eighth (fly-half) in the history of the game. He was named the International Rugby Board Player of the Year in 2005, 2012 and 2015.
Andrew Charles Thomas Gomarsall MBE is a former rugby union player who played at scrum-half for Leeds Carnegie and England.
The Canada men's national rugby union team represents the Canada in men's international rugby union competitions. They are overseen by Rugby Canada the governing body of rugby union in Canada.
Bradley Carnegie Thorn is a New Zealand Australian rugby union coach and former rugby league and rugby union footballer. Born in New Zealand, he represented Australia in rugby league and New Zealand in rugby union in a twenty-two year career as a player, starting at age nineteen and finishing at age forty-one. He was the head coach of the Australian Super Rugby Pacific team, the Queensland Reds. Thorn is their second longest-serving coach in history and their longest serving coach in the professional era.
Pieter Joshua de Villiers is a South African-born French rugby union player and coach. As a player he represented France at international level and played in two Rugby World Cups, and ended his club career with Stade Français in the Top 14 competition in France. A prop, he was renowned for his scrummaging ability.
Launceston Rugby Club is a Cornish rugby club which play at Polson Bridge, Launceston, Cornwall. They are currently in Regional 1 South West, at the fifth tier of the English rugby union system following their promotion from Tribute South West 1 West via a play-off in 2019. At present the club fields two senior men's teams, colts (under-18), mini/junior sides, as well as several girls teams.
David Alexander Callam is a professional rugby union player for Edinburgh Rugby in Scotland, he plays in the No.8 position in the back row for Edinburgh and is also a member of Scotland's 2007 RWC squad.
James Gordon Pritchard is an Australian-Canadian professional rugby union and rugby league footballer, who currently plays his club rugby union for Ampthill in National League 1 following short spells with Old Albanian and Coventry. Pritchard is best known for his time with Bedford Blues, where he spent 12 seasons across two spells with the club, and he is the club's record points scorer with 2,883 points in all competitions, including 99 tries. He is also the RFU Championship all-time top points scorer with 2,673 points from 251 league and play-off games while playing for Bedford Blues and Plymouth Albion, as a fullback, wing or centre. Pritchard has played internationally for Canada, with whom he appeared in four Rugby World Cups, and is his countries all-time top points scorer with 607 points.