Mark van Gisbergen
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Mark van Gisbergen (born 30 June 1977 in Hamilton, New Zealand) is a rugby union footballer who plays at full back for Wasps and England. He is nicknamed 'Giz' or 'Gizzy'.
Van Gisbergen’s father is Dutch born whilst his mother is from New Zealand, meaning that the player holds both New Zealand and Dutch passports. Van Gisbergen qualified to play for England on 11 September 2005 on residency grounds, having come to England three years previously to begin his playing career at Wasps.
He is a former Waikato fly-half in the National Provincial Championship, although he was unable to cement a regular starting position or secure a more financially rewarding Super 12 contract. He played his club rugby for Hamilton Marist for several seasons, often at fullback.
The full back made his debut for Wasps in 2002 and scored just under 300 points for his club in the 2003/4 season. He scored over 300 points in the 2004/5 season and appeared in all but two Wasps matches. In his time with Wasps he has played in three Premiership Finals and a Heineken Cup Final.
His defensive tackling rivals that of any player in the Premiership, and his ability to run the ball back from his own half and turn defence into attack is a valuable part to the Wasps game. He is an elusive runner, who is able to get behind the defence and set up scoring opportunities for his back three colleagues. He has recently also taken up the kicking duties for Wasps and, as of late January 2006, has an accuracy rating of 85%. This is the highest of any kicker in the 2005-06 Premiership season.
He made his Test debut as a brief replacement for Mark Cueto during England's 26-16 defeat of Australia in November 2005. In a friendly before the 2006/07 season he suffered a broken chin, and was ruled out for six weeks.
