Michael Owen (rugby union)

Michael Owen

Owen takes a line-out
Date of birth	(1980-11-07) 7 November 1980 (age 43)
Place of birth	Pontypridd, Wales
Height	1.97 m (6 ft 5+1⁄2 in)
Weight	109 kg (17.2 st)
School	Bryn Celynnog
University	University of Glamorgan (now the University of South Wales)
Rugby union career
Position(s) No.8 / Flanker Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 1999–2003 2003–2008 2008–2010 Pontypridd Dragons Saracens 103 98 23 (?) (45) (5) International career Years Team Apps (Points) 2002–2010 2005 Wales British & Irish Lions 41 1 (10) (0)

Michael Owen (born 7 November 1980 in Pontypridd), is a former Welsh international rugby union player, who most often played Number 8, but was also versatile enough to play flanker or even lock. His ball handling was arguably his greatest asset.

Club career

Having been educated at Bryn Celynnog Comprehensive School in Beddau,^[1] Owen played for Pontypridd RFC from 1999 until in 2003 the side merged with Bridgend RFC to form the ill-fated Celtic Warriors and then played for the Newport Gwent Dragons in the Celtic League from 2003 until 2008.

Owen joined Guinness Premiership side Saracens for the 2008/2009 season after signing a two-year deal with the club.^[2][3]

International career

Owen became the 1,000th player capped by Wales when he made his debut in the first Test against South Africa in June 2002.

He took over from the injured Gareth Thomas as Wales captain during the 2005 Six Nations, and became the 122nd Captain of his country when he led Wales out against Scotland and led Wales to its first Grand Slam in 27 years.

Owen was selected for the British & Irish Lions for their 2005 New Zealand tour. On 23 May in Cardiff, he had the honour of captaining the side for their match at Millennium Stadium against Argentina, the first Lions Test match to take place outside of the touring country. He temporarily returned home for the birth of his second child.

International tries

Try	Opponent	Location	Venue	Competition	Date	Result
1	Scotland	Cardiff, Wales	Millennium Stadium	2003 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches	30 August 2003	Win
2	Fiji	Cardiff, Wales	Millennium Stadium	2005 Autumn Internationals	11 November 2005	Win

Post professional rugby career

In July 2010, Owen announced his retirement from the game at 29 due to a persistent knee problem and embarked on a two-year master's degree course in Business at the University of Hertfordshire.^[4]

In March 2010 he began coaching at Hertford RFC, helping them to gain National 2 league status for the 2011/12 season.

Owen was a co-commentator for ITV's coverage of the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

From September 2013 Owen took up the position of Director of Rugby at Haileybury College.^[5]

References

External links

• Pontypridd profile
• Newport Gwent Dragons profile
• Wales profile^{[permanent dead link]}
• Saracens profile
• Sporting-Heroes.net (Part 1)
• Sporting-Heroes.net (Part 2)
• Welsh Rugby Union

This page was last edited on 24 December 2023, at 14:05