Chris Wyles

Chris Wyles

Full name	Chris Wyles
Date of birth	(1983-09-13) September 13, 1983
Place of birth	Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	93 kg (14 st 9 lb)[1]
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position	Fullback/Wing/Centre
Professional / senior clubs
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
2004-2006 2006-2007 2008-present	Nottingham RFC Northampton Saints Saracens F.C.	40 9 137	(105) 21t (15) 3t (135) 27t
correct as of 28 January 2014.
National team(s)
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
2007-present	United States	39	(157) 12t
correct as of 28 January 2014.
Sevens national teams
Years	Club / team		Comps
2007-2009	United States		13 (270)

Chris Wyles (born 13 September 1983 in Stamford, Connecticut, USA) is an International American-English rugby union player who plays for the USA Eagles and plays his club rugby for Saracens in the Aviva Premiership. He plays as a fullback or wing. Wyles is the most-capped fullback of all time for the U.S. national team.^[2] Wyles has captained the USA national sevens team, which is a core team on the IRB Sevens World Series.

Background

Wyles grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania before he moved to England when he was 11 years old. His parents are from England.^[3] He then attended Haileybury and Imperial Service College in Hertford and went on to study Politics at the University of Nottingham.

Club career

Wyles joined Saracens in summer of 2008, after impressive performances in the 2007 World Cup. Eddie Jones, who was on the Springboks coaching team, saw Wyles' potential, and when Jones became Director of Rugby at Saracens he signed Wyles to build his squad.^[4] Wyles debuted for Saracens on 24 August 2008 against the Sale Sharks. In the 2009/2010 season he was a regular starter on the wing and played in the Saracens team that took on Leicester RFC in the final of the English Premiership. For his performances during the 2009/10 Season, Wyles was nominated for Player of the Season by Brendan Venter. He was also a key figure in the successful 2010/11 Premiership winning side, starting 20 matches and leading the team in metres gained (909 metres).

His previous club was the Northampton Saints, where he played during the 2006/2007 season. It was during this period that he caught the eye of the USA Eagles coaching team which eventually resulted in his involvement in the IRB Sevens World Series and the 2007 Rugby World Cup. Wyles’ first professional club was the Championship team, Nottingham RFC.

International career

Wyles first represented the US national rugby sevens team at the 2007 Hong Kong Sevens. From there, he went on to captain the US team in the IRB Sevens World Series, leading the team to core IRB Sevens status. During his time with the US national Sevens team he scored an impressive 54 tries in 13 tournaments.

Wyles earned his first 15's cap at the Churchill Cup in 2007 against England Saxons before going onto to play Fullback for the Eagles in the 2007 Rugby World Cup. His performances in the World Cup led him to be named the American Rugby News ‘Player of the Year’^[5] Since the 2007 Rugby World Cup, he has been a regular starter at Fullback for the US National team. In 2009, Wyles was included in the USA Eagles team of the decade by a leading US rugby publication.^[6] Wyles continued his form for the USA team playing in the 2011 Rugby World Cup finishing as the Eagles top points scorer. His recent performances for club and country won him the 2012 Player of the Year award for American rugby^[7]

References

External links

• USA rugby
• Aviva Premiership Rugby